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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



Gospel of the Kingdom, 



ADVOCATED IN A SERIES OF 



TEN DISCOURSES 



BY 

WILEY JONES, 
Norfolk, Va. 



The Preaching of Christ : — "Now after that John was put in prison, 
Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of* God." 
—Mark i, 34. 

The Preaching of His Apostles: — "This gospel of the kingdom shall 
be preached in all the world." — Mat. xxiv, 14; Ac. i, 8; Col. i, 6, 23. 

The Apostolic warning: — "Though we, or an angel from heaven, 
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached 
unto you, let him be accursed." — Gal. i, 8, 9. 

The Apostolic exhortation; — "Earnestly contend for the faith which 
was once delivered unto the saints." — Jude 3. { OF Ci 






W : >^ 1879. ^ 

VIRGINIAN STEAM PRESSES, 
NORFOLK, VA. 

1879: 



9r 



3"1 



3 Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



PREFACE 



These discourses are not verbatim reports, but were 
written out principally from short notes used in speak- 
ing. The subjects, as will be seen, are of the utmost 
importance, embracing the leading points of "The 
faith of the gospel." 

This volume is now sent on its travels with the 
humble and fervent prayer that, under the blessing 
of the Lord, it may assist many in obtaining a knowl- 
edge of that Gospel which " is the power of God unto 
salvation to every one that believeth." 

Norfolk, March, 1879. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S7'.», 

by Wiley Jones, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



FIRST DISCOURSE. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

"Search the Scriptures." — John v, 39. " They received 
the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the 
Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore 
many of them believed." — Ac. xvii, 11, 12. 

1. We should study the Bible with delight. 
The holy writers, although endowed with inspira- 
tion themselves, used to take delight in studying 
the written word. Thus Paul, " I delight in the 
law of God." — Rom. vii, 22. And the Psalmist, 
" How sweet are thy words unto mf taste ! Yea, 
sweeter than honey to my mouth ! O how I love 
thy law ! it is my meditation all the day." — 
Psa. cxix, 97, 103. "Blessed is the man whose 
delight is in the law of the Lord." — Psa. i, 2. 
And even the Great Redeemer himself read the 
Holy Scriptures ; it was " His custom" — Lu. iv, 
16. Why then should not we delight in the study 
of that sacred volume? It is commended to us as 
an " able " word, — " able to make thee wise unto 
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus 
. . . able to build thee up, and to give thee an 
inheritance among all them which are sanctified." 



6 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

2 Tim. iii, 16: Ac. xx, 32. All through life it 
is a lamp to our feet and a guide to our steps — 
" Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, and after- 
wards receive me to glory." — Psa. lxxiii, 24. 
In earliest youth it comes to us with the timely 
exhortation, " Remember now thy Creator, in the 
days of thy youth" — Eccles. xii, 1. In the 
feverish battle of life it gives many a cooling sip 
of " precious promises," and, like a ministering 
angel, at the dying hour it softly whispers, " un- 
derneath are the everlasting arms . . . Yea, 
though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death I will fear no evil, for thy rod and thy 
staff they comfort me." 

That the Bible is one of the greatest blessings 
bestowed on mankind is generally acknowledged 
by all who have taken the pains to acquaint them- 
selves with the value and worth of it. I once 
heard a pious and learned young Christian say, 
" The more I study the Bible, the more I want to 
study it." A celebrated scholar and linguist has 
said, " I have regularly and attentively read the 
Holy Scriptures, and am of the opinion that this 
volume contains more true sublimity, more exqui- 
site beauty, more pure morality, more important 
history, and finer strains both of poetry and elo- 
quence, than could be collected from all other 
books." In what light soever we read the Bible, 
whether with reference to revelation, to history, or 
to morality, it is an invaluable and inexhaustible 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE, 7 

mine of knowledge and virtue. But we cannot 
briefly enumerate its countless benefits ; and there- 
fore, with these few seed-thoughts on its precious- 
ness, I pass to a second branch of the subject 

2. We should study the. Bible with child-like 
submission to its dictates. The Bible is the sover- 
eign test in all matters, whether of faith or prac- 
tice. u To the law and to the testimony ; if they 
speak not according to this word, it is because 
there is no light in them." — Isa. viii, 20. " Prove 
all things, hold fast that which is good." — 1 Thes. 
v, 21. An authoritative message has been sent 
from the throne of God, and therefore the forma- 
tion of our religious creed is no longer left to the 
dreams of imagination, or the speculations of phi- 
losophy ; but it is to be deduced fairly and honestly 
from the written record alone. The apostles 
wrought real and true miracles in confirmation of 
what they said; and yet the Bereans examined 
even their teachings by the test of scripture, — they 
"searched the scriptures daily, whether those 
things were so. Therefore many of them be- 
lieved." And they were commended as " noble," 
for their conduct. How much more necessary then 
is it for us to examine what we hear (no matter \olio 
may say it), and to have a " Thus saith the Lord" 
or a " Thus it is written " for every article of our 
faith and practice!* 



* "Holy Scripture contain eth all things necessary to salva- 
tion; so that whatever is not read therein, nor may be 



8 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

But many believers of error pride themselves on 
the witness of their own heart, or the teaching of 
the spirit within them, as they call it. They 
ought to remember however that the Spirit of God 
in the heart would not in one jot or tittle contra- 
dict the Spirit of God in the Bible, for the Spirit 
of God nowhere contradicts the word of God. 
When Paul said, "The Spirit beareth witness 
with our spirit, that we are the children of God" 
he was speaking of himself and those early disci- 
ples who, like him, had believed the gospel of the 
kingdom, and also had been immersed "for the re- 
mission of sins" But I once heard a man who 
had neither believed that gospel nor received that 
immersion apply this language to himself, as proof 
of his being a Christian; but this was a glaring 
misapplication and perversion of that scripture. 
The feelings of the heart are never to be trusted 
where they conflict with the written word, for 
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and des- 

provecl thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it 
should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought 
requisite or necessary to salvation," — Episcopal Creed, Art. 
rV/. 

$t§~ I have occasionally quoted uninspired writers not 
as authority or proof, but for the sake of some truth which 
they have expressed in a forcible manner. Paul himself 
(who tells us to do what we have seen and heard in him, 
Phil, iv, 9) sometimes with good effect, quoted even heathen 
poets when thej^ chanced to say some valuable truth ; but 
not as authority or proof, nor as endorsing any of their un- 
true sayings. Ac. xvii, 28; Titus i, 12. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. \) 

perately wicked." — Jer. xvii, 9. "Out of the 
heart proceed evil thoughts." — Mat. xv, 19. 
Hence the Scripture has also said, " He that 
trusteth in his own heart is a fool." — Prov. xxviii, 
G. Saul and others " verily thought " that they 
were doing God service when they were " making 
havoc of the church " by cruel persecutions, but 
did their sincerity turn their crime into a virtue? 
Jno. xvi, 2: Ac. xxvi, 9-11. Sincerity will not 
render harmless the believing of error any more 
than it will the drinking of poison. The modern 
theory of sincerity, is not found in the Bible. Its 
advocates tell us that even idolaters will be saved, 
if they are sincere, and live up to the light they 
have. But the Bible declares that " idolaters 
shall have their part in the lake of fire and brim- 
stone, which is the second death." — Rev. xxi, 8. 
It speaks of the philosophical Greek idolaters of 
Ephesus (Ac. xix, 35,) as " without Christ, having 
no hope, and without God in the world . . . 
Being aleniated from the life of God through the 
ignorance that was in them." — Ephes. ii, 12 : iv, 1 8. 
And Paul did not preach to them that modem 
gospel of sincerity (which is a delusion and a snare), 
but faithfully declared to them "the gospel of the 
kingdom" as the Master had commanded. — Mat. 
xxiv, 14 : Ac. xx, 25. If every man's own sincer- 
ity of heart were to be made the standard and evi- 
dence of what is right would not all the various and 
conflicting sects of Protestantism, Catholicism and 



10 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

Paganism have an equal claim to be right? for I 
suppose the) 7 all claim to bo sincere, and to hav<» 
some sort of an approving witness in their own 
hearts. They need to be warned however that 
"there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, 
but the end thereof are the ways of death." — Prov. 
xiv, 12. 

We see then the absolute necessity of submitting 
entirely and without reserve to the dictates of the 
word of God which he has " magnified above all 
His name." — Psa. exxxviii, 2. His word enlight- 
ens, — "The en 1 ranee of thy word giveth light" 
(Psa. cxix, 130) : corrects, — " Through thy pre- 
cepts I get understanding ; therefore I hate every 
false way " (Psa. cxix, 104) : converts, — " The law 
of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul," (Psa. 
xix, 7): and shields from sin, — " Thy word have 
I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against 
thee." — Psa. cxix, 11. 

3. Heeding the "sure word of prophecy T In 
order that our faith may be " built upon the foun- 
dation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ 
himself being the chief corner stone " we should 
study the ivhole Bible, and not merely that part 
which was written by the apostles. The same God 
speaks to us through both, and the same "Spirit 
of Christ" which inspired the apostles inspired the 
prophets also. — 1 Pet. i, 11 : Ephes. ii, 20. These 
two classes of testimony — prophetic and apostolic — 
may be called the two sources from which " as new 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 11 

born babes" we derive "the sincere milk of the 
word " in our earliest perceptions of saving truth — 
1 Pet. ii, 2. They may be compared to the two 
wings on which in growing strength we mount up 
as eagles. — Isa. xl, 30. We may liken them to 
the two edges of that " sword of the spirit which 
is the word of God," and which "a good soldier of 
Jesus Christ," wields to the conviction and conver- 
sion of others.— Eph. vi, 17 : 2 Tim. ii, 3. 

When the Saviour said "Search the Scriptures," 
that portion of the Bible called the New Testament 
had not been written. Hence neglecting the study 
of the prophets would be neglecting this command 
of the Saviour. The apostles likewise require us 
to "be mindful, (i. e. 'regardful, attentive, obser- 
vant/ — Webster) of the words which were spoken 
before by the holy prophets," and they declare that 
in taking heed to the word of prophecy we "do 
well" It is a "light" which we dare not hide 
under a bushel. 2 Pet. i, 19 : iii, 2. Take warn- 
ing by Israel of old, and the things that "happened 
unto them for examples ; and are written for our 
admonition." 1 Cor. x, 11. Why was that nation 
made "a curse, an astonishment, a hissing and a 
reproach among all the nations?" "Because they 
hearkened not to my words, saith the Lord, which 
I sent unto them by my servants the prophets." 
Jer. xxix, 17-19. Behold what a value the Sav- 
iour has attached to the prophets, and to the 
convincing power of their testimony — "If they 



12 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they 
be persuaded though one rose from the dead ." Lev. 
xvi, 31. And again, " All things must be fulfilled 
which are written in the law of Moses, in the 
prophets and in the Psalms concerning me." — Lu. 
xxiv, 44. Their great themes ought to command 
the devout attention of every one who truly loves 
the Saviour, for they speak of "the sufferings of 
Christ and the glory that should follow," or, more 
accurately translated, "the sufferings destined for 
Christ, and the glories after these." — 1 Pet. i, 1 1. 
The glories include His resurrection, His ascension 
His intercession above, His future return "with 
power and great glory" to take His seat on "the 
throne of His glory" (Mat xxiv, 30: xxv, 31,) to 
"reign in mount Zion and in Jerusalem, before His 
ancients gloriously" (Isa. xxiii, 24), and finally to 
fill the whole earth with His glory. — Num. xiv, 
21.* 

And why object to the study of unfulfilled 



* "Prophecy serves as the basis of our hope in the things 
yet to come, in the final triumph of truth and righteousness 
on earth, the universal establishment of the kingdom of 
our Lord, and in the rewards of eternal life to be bestowed 
at His 2nd appearing," — Edwards' Encyclopedia. " Proph- 
ecy is interwoven with every part of the Bible from Genesis 
to the Revelation." — The Mine Explored, by the American 
Sunday School Union, " The subject of prophecy makes 
so large a proportion of Scripture, that no one can slight 
it withont disobeying the plain direction of Searching the 
Scriptures " — Comprehensive Commentary. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 13 

prophecy? By believing and heeding what was 
as yet an unfulfilled prophecy, Noah "prepared an 
ark to the saving of his house ; by the which he 
condemned the world, and became heir of the 
righteousness which is by faith." — Heb. xi, 7. 
And is it not perfectly fair to infer that if, under 
any pretext whatever, he had neglected or ignored 
that prophecy he would have perished along with 
the rest? as did also the sons-in-law of Lot for 
neglecting unfulfilled prophecy. — Gen. xix, 14. 
No doubt thev regarded Lot as "an alarmist" 
Perhaps real estate was higher in Sodom the day 
before than it had been for years, inducing the so- 
called " smart, shrewd, business men" of the place 
to rush into the market greedily buying for a still 
further rise. Planting too was going on, and per- 
haps the suburban farmers were expecting large 
crops and great gains, for it was a fertile valley. — 
Lu. xvii, 28. 

I tremble for those who confine their studies 
entirely to the fulfilled prophecies. What! does 
the word of God need to be confirmed by histori- 
cal eveuts before you deem it worthy of study or 
belief? A true worshipper should, like Paul, be- 
lieve not only the fulfilled things but "all things 
w T hichare written in the law and in the prophets." — 
Ac. xxiv, 14. What are all those precious promi- 
ses of the gospel which hold out to us the hope of 
the second coming of Christ, the resurrection morn, 
and all the joys of an endless life but unfulfilled 



14 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

prophecies? To cast aside all such prophecies, 
therefore, would blow out the light of the believer's 
animating hope, and leave us in the deadly dark- 
ness of utter despair. We are commanded to hear 
Christ "in all things whatsoever." — (Ac. iii, 22), 
and one of His longest recorded discourses is a 
series of prophecies, which, to be clearly under- 
stood, must be compared with other prophecies. — 
Mat. xxiv and xxv. The last book of the Bible 
is a christian prophecy, and was sent to the early 
churches with a blessing twice pronounced on those 
who read, hear, and keep "those things which are 
written therein." — Rev. 1, 3: xxii, 7. And was 
this blessing pronounced on the study of it because 
it had become a fulfilled prophecy? No, but be- 
cause it was unfulfilled. The reason is given in 
these words, " For the time is at hand." — Rev. i, 3. 
This promise of a blesssing ought to be a sufficient 
inducement to the study of that prophecy, and the 
study of that necessitates and opens the door to the 
study of Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, &c, all of 
them serving, when compared, to more clearly ex- 
plain one another. 

What if some have erred and advanced wild 
theories on the unfulfilled phophecies, should this 
prevent us from searching for their true meaning ? 
There have been quacks in the medical profession, 
but does that prevent people from taking medicine 
when they are sick ? On what point of Christian 
doctrine have errors and wild theories not been 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 15 

promulgated ? On the very origin and creation 
of man we have heard in our day of a sect of mad 
philosophers advocating the sheerest nonsense. On 
the remission of sins, on baptism, the Lord's Sup- 
per, the resurrection, and on many other subjects 
there have been wild theories of error started in the 
world by those who wrest the Scriptures to their 
own destruction. — 2 Peter iii, 16. But shall these 
perverters make us relinquish the real teaching 
of the Bible on those subjects? No, not for a 
moment. 

4. Comparing Scripture with Scripture. All 
the plain texts, from Genesis to Revelation, rela- 
ting to any particular subject, must be taken 
together impartially compared, and the expressions 
of one of them restricted by those of another, and 
explained in mutual consistency. Then, the doc- 
trine fairly deduced from them all in conjunction 
is the doctrine of the Bible on that particular 
subject. We are not to expect in every place the 
whole circle of Christian truth to be fully stated : 
and therefore no conclusion should be drawn from 
the absence of a doctrine from one passage so long 
as we can find that doctrine clearly stated in an- 
other. 

This is a rule of common sense, and is so just 
and so essential to a right understanding of the 
Bible, or indeed of any other book, that I wonder 
it is not observed by all. And yet in a vast num- 
ber of instances it is neglected, sometimes through 



16 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

mere indolence, and sometimes through a desire to 
deceive others. The neglect of it, however, is a 
fruitful source of crude notions, false doctrines, and 
destructive heresies, of nearly every shade and 
degree. For example, the Roman Catholics quote, 
"This is my body," and detaching this from sim- 
ilar texts that would explain it, they tell us that 
the bread and wine are so changed as to contain 
"the body, soul and divinity" of Christ. And 
this monstrous falsehood leads them to another sin 
— that of idolatry — for they pay divine honors to 
a piece of dough that has been baked over a fire. 
Does this idolatry differ in degree of guilt from the 
ancient worship of a piece of wood cut from a tree ? 
— Isa. xliv, 13-20, And yet millions of Protes- 
tants have been bitterly and cruelly persecuted by 
Romanists for not joining in such a blasphemous 
perversion of this text. If you should protest to 
the Romanist, " I see that it is a wafer, it taste* 
like a wafer, it smells like a wafer, to the touch it 
crumbles like a wafer of flour and water, to the 
hearing it sounds like a wafer, if I let it fall, and 
if I leave it long enough it corrupts and moulders 
like a wafer," his answer is, " Your five senses 
deceive you." 

But all of the five divinely-given senses testify 
that it is not changed, but is still a wafer; while 
only one of those senses, (the eyesight), testifies that 
the words, " This is my body," are in the Book at 
all. Would it be any more absurb to say that one 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 17 

of my senses deceives me with reference to those 
words, than to say that all of them deceive me with 
reference to the wafer ? But what need of arguing 
when we can learn, by merely comparing other 
portions of Scripture, that it is only a symbol, and 
that even in the act of eating, it still remains bread 
— "as often as ye eat this bread" Three times in 
as many consecutive verses, the substance eaten is 
declared to be bread.— 1 Cor. xi, 26, 27, 28. And 
as to the cup, we are forbidden to partake of blood, 
but commanded to partake of the wine. Therefore, 
the wine is not blood but only an emblem of it. — 
Gen. ix, 4 : Lev. xvii, 14 : Ac. xv, 29 , Mat. xxvi, 
27. When the Saviour says,, 1 1 am the door/' or 
" I am the vine," we are not to pervert his words 
and say that he is changed into a literal piece of 
carpenter's work, or a literal vine. And so the 
words "This is my body," mean only that the 
broken bread represents his body. Compare fur- 
ther, many similar expressions, as " Behold the 
Lamb of God."— Jno. i, 36. "That rock was 
Christ." — 1 Cor. x, 4. " The seven ears of corn 
are seven years." — Gen. xli, 26. " The seven can- 
dlesticks are seven churches " — Rev. i, 20. " The 
seven heads are seven mountains." — Rev. xvii, 9. 
" Their throat is an open sepulchre." — Rom. iii, 13. 
"Thou art that head of gold," and so on. — Dan. 
ii, 38. If I take you into a school room, and 
pointing to a map on the wall, say " This is Amer- 
ica," " That is Europe," " That is Asia," you never 



18 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

suppose the canvas and paint are transubstantiated 
into America, Europe, or Asia.* 

But many Protestants also violate this rule in 
matters of the utmost importance. For instance ; 
the three following truths which, as great first pri- 
ciples, every person in the world ought to be ac- 
quainted with, are clearly taught in the Bible. 

1. That " THE GOSPEL OF THE KING- 
DOM " is what the Lord Jesus preached in Pales- 
tine during all His personal ministry. The proof 
of this is too clear to be denied. " Jesus went about 
all the cities and villages teaching in their syna- 
gogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.'' 7 
— Mat. ix, 35, iv, 23. " He went throughout every 
city and viliage, preaching and showing the glad 
tidings of the kingdom of God" — Lu. viii, 1. 
And in the sacred interval between His resurrec- 
tion and ascension He conversed with His disciples, 
" being seen of them forty days, and speaking of 
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God;" the 
earliest and the latest theme of His teaching on 
earth. — Ac. i, 3. 

2. "THIS GOSPEL OF THE KING- 
DOM " is what the apostles went forth and preached 



* Notice the case of Balaam as another illustration of 
comparing Scripture to gain all the evidence on any point. 
We find his general history in Numbers xxii, &e.; his mo- 
tive in 2 Pet. ii, 15 ; how deeply seated was his covetonsness, 
in Jude 11 ; that it was at his instigation Balak threw that 
temptation in the way of the Israelites, in Rev. ii, 14. 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 19 

in all the world after He ascended They did this 
by express directions of the Master who towards 
the close of His own personal ministry said to them, 
by way of prediction and command, " This gospel 
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world." 
— Mat. xxiv, 14. Any tolerably bright youth in 
a Sunday school ought to be able to tell you that 
the Saviour's own personal ministry was confined 
to the land of Palestine. By whom, then, was it 
preached in all the world ? Certainly not by the 
hostile Scribes and Pharisees, nor the sneering Gen- 
tile philosophers. It must therefore have been 
preached by the Apostles, for it was they whom 
the Master appointed to that work, saying, " Go ye 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature." — Mar. xvi, 15. "Ye shall be witnesses 
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and 
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the 
earth." — Ac. i, 8. And though dead we may say 
that they are still preachiag it in their writings (but 
not in their self-styled " successors "), wherever the 
Bible is read, or translated into a new dialect 
by the noble Bible Societies. The words of the 
Master — "This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
preached in all the world" — are plain enough 
proof that it was preached in Corinth, Rome, Ga- 
latia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica, and 
in every other place to which Paul or any other 
apostle went. 

3. After one of the apostles had been a long 



20 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

time engaged in preaching "The gospel of the king- 
dom " he wrote to some who had heard it, saying, 
"Though we, or an angel from heaven preach any 
OTHER gospel unto you than that which WE have 
preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said 
before, so say I now again, If ANY man preach any 
OTHER gospel unto you than that ye have re- 
ceived, let him be accursed." — Gal. i, 8, 9. 

These three great truths may be expressed in the 
following short and easily remembered sentence, — 
The Lord Jesus and His apostles preached THE 
GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM ; and a double 
curse has been pronounced against man or angel 
who shall dare to preach any other gospel. 

And now, in the face of all these facts, is it not 
surprising to find some persons taking an isolated 
text (1 Cor. xv, 3, 4,) and, contrary to sound crit- 
icism and right interpretation, endeavoring to prove 
from it that Paul at Corinth did not preach the 
kingdom, but preached only the death, burial and 
resurrection of the Saviour ? In that text the 
words en protois, translated u first of all/' are de- 
fined by Liddell & Scott's Lexicon (1849) to be 
" like the Latin in primis, among the first." The 
phrase might be accurately rendered "among pri- 
maries." Campbell's edition (A. D. 1832) says, 
" among the first things." Whitby's paraphrase 
says, "among the principal doctrines of faith." 
Thus we see that the death, burial and resurrection 
although essential things were not the only things 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 21 

preached at Corinth bat were comprised " among " 
certain other things elsewhere called " the things 
concerning the kingdom of GodP — Ac. xix, 8. 

Those preachers who declaim against us must ad- 
mit that it would be a wretched sophism, extremely 
stupid and unfair, to take Ac. xx ; 25, and argue 
from it that the death, burial and resurrection of 
Christ were not preached or believed in at Ephesus, 
merely because those events are not mentioned in 
that text. Now on the same principle it would be 
an equally stupid and unfair sophism to take 1 Cor. 
xv, 3, 4, and argue from it that the doctrine of the 
kingdom was not preached or believed in at Cor- 
inth, merely because the kingdom is not mentioned 
in that text. Our opponents try to justify their 
silence concerning the kingdom by saying that in 
sundry places conversions are described where there 
is not express mention of preaching the kingdom. 
But we rebut this piece of sophistry by proving 
that in sundry places we have the history of con- 
versions where there is express mention of preach- 
ing the kingdom. — See Ac. viii, 12 : xix, 8, 20 : xx 
25: xxviii, 23, 31. And now let me emphasize 
this question — whether is it wiser or safer to include 
" the things of the kingdom n in our preaching and 
faith ; and thus have a whole and true gospel ; or 
to leave out those things of the kingdom as though 
they were never mentioned in Scripture, and thus 
have a fragmentary and perverted gospel ? To all 
men, women and children, of common sense, this 
question is submitted. 



22 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

To suppose from such texts as 1 Cor. xv, 3, 4, 
that Paul at Corinth did not preach the gospel of 
the kingdom, nor require the Corinthians to believe 
it, is to misunderstand those texts, and to absurdly 
set Paul against Paul, for it would be accusing 
him of preaching a very different faith and hope 
in Corinth from what he preached in Ephesus and 
Rome ; and indeed from what all the apostles were 
required to preach everywhere, for the command 
was general, u This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
preached in all the world." — Mat. xxiv, 14. Since 
therefore the gospel of the kingdom covers the 
whole field of apostolic preaching, it is plain that 
whatever short phrase is used to designate what 
was preached at Corinth and other places, " This 
gospel of the kingdom " is always implied if not 
expressed in that phrase. In 1 Cor. xv, 3, 4, it is 
implied in the official title " Christ," which means 
"Anointed." — Jno. i, 41. He is anointed for the 
three offices of Prophet, to teach ; Priest, to inter- 
cede ; and King, to reign. The " great salvation " 
is comprised in the performance of these three 
offices. We are by nature ignorant, guilty and en- 
slaved. To remove ignorance is the office of a 
prophet ; to remove guilt, the office of a priest ; 
and to liberate, lead to victory and protect in a 
safe home and country is the office of a king. The 
Redeemer's prophetical office was foretold in Isa. 
lxi, 1-3 ; — " The Lord hath anointed me to preach 
good tiding unto the meek," etc. His priestly 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE, 23 

office in Dan. ix, 26 ; — "After threescore and two 
weeks shall Messiah (i. e. the Anointed) be cut off, 
but not for himself;" which means that He "died 
for our sins." His Kingly office in Psa. ii ; — " The 
rulers take counsel together against the Lord and 
against His Anointed (rendered Christ in Ac. iv, 
26) . . . Yet have I set my King upon my holy 
hill of Zion. ... I shall give thee the heathen 
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
e&rth for thy possession." Here the territory and 
the royal city of the king are specified with the 
utmost clearness. 

And now if it be enquired, " How did Christ 
perform the office of Prophet ? " I answer, by 
teaching men the will of God, personally when He 
was on earth and afterwards in giving them the 
Holy Scriptures. How does He perform the of- 
fice of Priest? By having once offered himself a 
Sacrifice on the cross, and by still making interces- 
sion as the one Mediator between God and man. 
How will He perform the office of king? By de- 
scending from heaven, liberating the righteous from 
the bondage of sin and sorrow, giving them the 
victory over death and blessing them with endless 
life and happiness in the everlasting kingdom 
which He will then establish on the earth. 

And so we see that the title <s Christ " is a very 
comprehensive one. That it includes the doctrine 
of the kingdom can also be seen by comparing the 
5th and 12th verses of Ac. viii, for while one verse 



24 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

tells us that Philip preached " Christ " the other 
explains it by saying that he preached " the things 
concerning the kingdom of God and the name of 
Jesus Christ." I have now proved that the apos- 
tles preached and the early christians believed the 
gospel of the kingdom. And no man in his senses 
ought to dispute the self-evident assertion that we 
are required to believe the same gospel ; for there 
is but one true gospel, one faith and one hope, for 
all times, places and people, from the apostolic age 
until now. — Ephes, iv, 4.-6 Jude. 3. 

By instructive illustrations I have shown the 
importance of comparing Scripture with Scripture. 
Our Lord has left us an example of this : "Begin- 
ning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded 
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concern- 
ing himself." — Lu. xxiv. 27. And the first chapter 
of Hebrews contains many quotations, culled, from 
a wide field of Scripture, on the subject of the 
superiority of Christ to angels. For readily find- 
ing the testimonies on any subject, a Concordance 
and a Bible with a good selection of marginal 
references will be of great service. Although the 
marginal references were not arranged by inspira- 
tion, but are a human work and therefore imper- 
fect in some instances, yet a discriminating reader 
will still find them serviceable; and indeed it is 
wonderful what a vast amount of accurate and 
valuable information can be obtained by their 
assistance. For example, in studying the first 



IIOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 25 

verse of the New Testament, the marginal refer- 
ences are of thrilling interest. From Abraham to 
David were fourteen, and from David to Christ 
were twenty-eight generations; we are naturally 
led to enquire, therefore, Why is the Saviour called 
the Son of David, the son of Abraham, all the 
preceding and intervening patriarchs being left 
out of that verse? In following out the marginal 
references we discover that it is because two great 
covenants have been made, the one with Abraham, 
and the other with David, which covenants are to 
be fulfilled in Christ the divine "Seed" or Son of 
whom they speak. Thus on the phrase, "the Son 
of David," the reference takes us to Ac. ii, 30, 
where Peter tells us, in his great Pentecostal sermon 
that God hath sworn with an oath to David "that 
of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he 
would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." Thus, 
as the son of David, he will inherit David's throne. 
From Acts ii, 30, the reference takes us to 2 Sam. 
vii, 12, 13,- where we find the covenant with Da- 
vid, containing the oath to which Peter refers. 
Then to Psa. exxxii, 11, where the same oath is 
referred to in almost the exact words of Peter, 
" The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, he 
will not turn from it, of the fruit of thy body will 
I set upon thy throne." Then to Luke i, 32, 33, 
where also the angel Gabriel declares that Christ 
shall obtain the throne of his father David, and 
that "of his kingdom there shall be no end." And 
2 



26 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

now see how the light accumulates and grows 
brighter and still brighter, as we progress in our 
researches! for here the reference is to Dan. ii, 44: 
vii, 14, 27, where we learn that when Christ ob- 
tains the throne of David, his kingdom will not 
be confined to the narrow strip of land over which 
David reigned, but will fill the ivhole earth; also 
that it will bean everlasting kingdom, and will be 
under the whole heaven, and therefore on earth, of 
course. 

Then we are taken to Obadiah 21, and there told 
that the kingdom shall be the Lord's, that is, it 
will be the kingdom of God, spoken of in the gos- 
pel. Thence we are referred to Rev. xi, 15, which 
informs us that the kingdom will be manifested at 
the resurrection season, under the seventh trumpet, 
which is "the last trumpet." Then to Rev. xix, 
6, etc., where we learn that the Lord Jesus will 
not obtain the kingdoms of this world without 
opposition, for the vile kings of the earth and their 
armies will make war with the Lamb, but the 
Lamb shall overcome them, and bind Satan, and 
reign triumphantly with his risen saints in the 
blissful millennial state. — Rev. xviii, 14 ; xx. 

And now, returning to our verse we take up 
the other phrase, "the Son of Abraham. " The 
reference here points to Gal.iii, 16, which informs 
us that to Christ as the " Seed " or Son of Abra- 
ham, certain great promises have been made. And 
the reference there points to Gen. xii, 7, where the 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 27 

promise reads thus, "Unto thy seed will I give 
this land," meaning the land of Canaan on this 
earth. And the reference here points to Gen. xiii, 
15; xvii. 8, where we discover that all the land of 
Canaan has been promised for an everlasting posses- 
sion, to Abraham and his seed, that is, to Abraham 
and to Christ, as Paul explains it. Thus the 
argument is perfectly clear that as the Son of Abra- 
ham, the Lord Jesus will inherit the land of 
Canaan on this earth, for an everlasting or eternal 
possession ; and as the son of David, he will inherit 
a glorious throne upon that land. 

Now returning to Gal. iii, I find on verse 17 a 
reference to Rom. iv. 13, which gives us to under- 
stand that the full extent of the promise was equal 
to the promise of "the world" for, as we have 
shown, when the Son of David (and Son of God) 
comes in glory and takes possession of the throne 
of David his kingdom will fill the whole earth. 
Then in verse 29 of Gal. iii, I find that all Chris- 
tians, by virtue of their relationship to Christ, are 
also Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the 
promise made to him and his seed. And the 
reference on this verse takes us to Rom. viii, 17, 
which says that they are joint heirs with Christ. 

Behold, then, how these two classes of testi- 
mony — the one concerning the Son of David, the 
other concerning the Son of Abraham — are like 
two crystal streams that, rising in the first verse of 
the New Testament, flow throughout the Scriptures, 



28 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

gathering volume from their tributary texts as they 
go, until they both end and blend 

In that bright Paradise restor'd 
The blissful kingdom of the Lord : 

Even in that kingdom which the Lord Jesus will 
establish on earth at His coming, and in which, 
through the atoning merits of the precious blood 
of Christ you may obtain endless happiness if you 
will believe and obey the gospel of the kingdom. 



SECOND DISCOURSE. 



"WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?" 

" Then lie called for a light, and sprang in, and came 
trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought 
them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved ? And 
they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt 
be saved, and thy house."— Acts xvi, 29, 30, 31. 

This thrilling piece of apostolic history contains 
the most important question that can be framed 
by human lips. It is not what must I do to ob- 
tain health, or wealth, or fame, or some high posi- 
tion of human power and grandeur; but infinitely 
more than all these, " What must I do to be 
saved f And in proportion to the importance of 
the question is the plainness of the answer, " Be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ." Belief and faith 
are the same ; and what this answer requires is, of 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 29 

course, not a faith without works, which is dead ; 
but it requires a living faith — a faith which "works 
by love and purifies the heart." — Jas. ii, 20. 

I have called this a very plain answer, because, 
with the Bible before us, it is easy to discover what 
is meant by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The subject is placed before us in the clearest light. 
For example, we know that a message sent makes 
him by whom it is sent a messenger, and that to 
truly believe on the messenger is to believe the 
message which he brings. Now, among his other 
attributes, we find those of a messenger expressly 
attributed to Christ, and that he has been sent as 
the bearer of a message from God to man. Thus 
he is called the " Messenger of the covenant/' — 
Mai. iii, 1. " The Apostle and High Priest of our 
profession." — Heb. iii, 1. The word "apostle" 
here applied to the Lord Jesus, conveys the same 
idea, for it means "a messenger, ambassador." 
And in the parable of the vineyard the Saviour 
speaks of himself in the same way — " last of all he 
sent unto them his Son." Again he says, " 1 am 
sent to preach the kingdom of God." At the house 
of Cornelius, Peter also called attention to "the 
word which God sent unto the children of Israel, 
preaching peace *by Jesus Christ." — Acts x, 36. 
The Father says, " This is my beloved Son, hear 
him." — Lu. ix, 35. And Moses said, "Him shall 
ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto 
you. And it shall come to pass that every soul 



30 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

which will not hear that prophet shall be de- 
stroyed"— Acts iii, 22, 23. 

To make the subject still clearer, we find the 
Lord Jesus placed before us also in the attitude of 
a witness bearing testimony. Thus he is called 
"The Faithful and True Witness."— Rev. iii, 14. 
And he declares of himself, " For this cause came 
I into the world, that I should bear icitness unto 
the truth." — John xviii, 37. Now the message or 
doctrine which he preached is " His testimony" 
and the Scriptures assure us that " He that hath 
received his testimony hath set to his seal that God 
is true"; but on the other hand, "Ho that be- 
lieveth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath 
of God abideth on him. ; ' — John iii, 33, 36. 
We have now shown, by varied illustration and 
overwhelming proof, that to "believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ," in a true and Scriptural sense, is to 
believe and obey that message or testimony which 
he has proclaimed to men. 

What then is that message or testimony which 
is so essential to salvation ? Our eternal destiny 
depends on a truthful answer to this question ; and 
the Lord be praised that we are not left in the dark 
on a subject of such vast importance. Peter has 
with great precision pointed out the path by which 
we can find what that message was. He says that 
"the word which God sent unto the children of 
Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ , . . was 
published throughout all Judea, and began from 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 31 

Galilee, after the baptisfla which John preached." 
Acts x, 36, 37. With such " great plainness of 
speech " as this, how is it possible for us to miss 
that word or message for which we are searching ? 
We are told, 1st, Who sent it — " the word which 
God sent"; 2nd, To whom it was sent — " unto 
the children of Israel " ; 3rd, By whom it was 
sent — " by Jesus Christ " ; 4th, In what region it 
was published — "throughout all Judea" ; 5th, 
From what point it began — " from Galilee " ; 6th, 
At what time it began — " after the baptism which 
John preached." Such plain directions take us 
directly to Mark i, 14, which says, " Now after 
that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Gali- 
lee, preaching THE GOSPEL OF THE KING- 
DOM OF GOD." How accurately this answers 
to the language of Peter ! John " was a bright 
and shining light," but his ministry had now come 
to a close. His voice bad been hushed on the 
banks of the Jordan. Eager crowds no longer 
thronged its verdant slopes — all was silence and 
solitude there ; for John had been torn away from 
his holy work and shut up in a dark and gloomy 
prison. And there he was put to death as the re- 
ward of a cruel young woman for dancing. Con- 
trast her conduct with that of the pious Esther who 
fasted and prayed to save life. Who then can love 
dancing, after seeing that it caused the murder of 
one of whom the Saviour said, " Among them that 
are born of women there hath not risen a greater." 



32 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

Bat although the Lord allows his workmen to be 
buried, he carries on his work ; for after John's 
voice was hushed, the blessed Saviour " began 
from Galilee " proclaiming " The gospel of the 
kingdom of God" Another portion of Scripture 
informs us that he "went about all Galilee, teach- 
ing in their synagogues and preaching the gospel 
of the kingdom." — Matthew iv, 23. Nor did |he 
confine his ministry to that section, but published 
the same great message " throughout all Judea," 
as we learn from Luke viii, 1 — "It came to pass 
afterward that he went throughout every city and 
village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of 
the kingdom of God" When the people of Caper- 
naum urged him to stay longer with them he re- 
fused, saying "I must preach the kingdom of God 
to other cities also ; for therefore am I sent." — 
Luke iv, 43. And even in that solemn interval 
between his resurrection and ascension his theme 
was still " the things pertaining to the kingdom of 
God,"— Acts i, 3. 

Thus I have plainly and abundantly proved 
that "THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" 
is the great message or testimony which Christ has 
brought to men. It follows, therefore, that ''The 
gospel of the kingdom " is what we must believe 
before we can be truly said to " believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ." He has commanded us to 
believe that gospel. "Jesus came into Galilee 
preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 33 

saying, ' Repent ye, and believe the gospel \" — 
Mark i, 14,15. Of course He did not command 
them to believe " another gospel " than the one 
that He was preaching. The language, therefore, 
proves that He commanded them to believe the 
identical gospel that He was preaching — " the gos- 
pel of the kingdom of God." Does any one 
imagine that it is not essential to keep His com- 
mandments? "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and 
do not the things which I say?" — Lu. vi, 46. 
" Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command 
you." — John xv, 14. " Whatsoever He saith unto 
you doT — John ii, 5. u If ye love me keep my 
commandments." — John xiv, 15. Keeping His 
commandments is a test of our loving Him, and 
certainly no one can be saved who does not love 
Him, for the fearful penalty has been pronounced, 
"If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let 
him be Anathema Maranatha," i. e. accursed when 
the Lord comes. — 1 Cor. xvi, 22. 

Because the Son of God has set us the example 
and made the kingdom of God the great and con- 
stant theme of his discourse, we know this must 
be the wisest, noblest and best theme that can oc- 
cupy the minds or tongues of men. But it is well 
known that multitudes of modern teachers, both 
in high and low positions, with a blind and fatal 
persistency, refuse to either believe or preach that 
blessed gospel of the kingdom. For all the world 
I would not be in the place of such teachers at the 



34 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

day of judgment. A prominent member of a 
popular denomination once told me that be bad 
been attending bis church twenty-five years, but 
did not remember ever having heard that expres- 
sion — the gospel of the kingdom — used there, or 
to have heard a sermon preached on it. A preacher 
of another large and popular sect told me that be 
remembered the expression, "the gospel of the 
kingdom/' and he believed that it occurred "some- 
where in the Epistles." Another preacher who 
said he had studied Greek and Hebrew, had 
graduated regularly in theology, and had been 
preaching six years j on being questioned by 
me as to whether the expression "the gospel of the 
kingdom " occurs in the Old or New Testament, 
said that he believed it occurred in the Old Testa- 
ment, "perhaps in the Psalms," and that he had 
never preached a sermon on the subject. But, ac- 
cording to Cruden's Concordance, that expression 
is not once found in the Epistles, the Psalms, nor 
in the Old Testament at all. Do not these inci- 
dents prove that a great apostasy has taken place 
in the world, and that men have "departed from 
the faith" and fallen into the pernicious practice 
of preaching "another gospel" than that which 
the Lord Jesus preached ? And not only did the 
Lord himself preach the kingdom of God, but 
while his own personal ministry was going on "He 
called his twelve disciples together and .... sent 
them to preach the kingdom of God. And they 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 35 

departed and went through the towns preaching 
the gospel." — Luke ix, 2, 6. Here we discover, 
that in Scriptural phraseology, preaching the 
kingdom is the same as preaching the gospel. It 
follows, therefore, that those who do not preach 
the kingdom do not preach the gospel. So impor- 
tant is preaching the kingdom that when a certain 
man requested leave to first go and bury his father, 
the Lord said, "Let the dead bury their dead; but 
go thou and preach the kingdom of God." — Luke 
ix, 60. 

But the gospel of the kingdom was not restricted 
to Palestine, for towards the close of his personal 
ministry the Saviour said, " This gospel of the 
kingdom shall be preached in all the world." — 
Matt, xxiv, 14. This language was both a pro- 
phecy and a command. By examining the record 
we discover that this prophecy was not to be ful- 
filled, nor this command obeyed, until after Pente- 
cost ; it is therefore the only true gospel of the 
present dispensation. I say the apostles did not 
go into all the world until after Pentecost, because 
until then the limits of their ministry had kept 
them in Palestine — "Go not into the way of the 
Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter 
ye not." — Matt, x, 5. This was before the Saviour 
ascended. And when he was about to ascend he 
charged them, " Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, 
until ye be endued with power from on high." — 
Luke xxiv, 49. While preaching in Judea they 



36 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

needed only to know the language of that land ; 
but uow that they were to go into all the world, 
they needed to be endued with power to speak the 
languages of the various nations to whom they 
were sent. This power was conferred on them in 
the gift of tongues on the day of Pentecost, about 
ten days after the Lord ascended. Thenceforth 
nothing hindered them from going into all the 
world and preaching the gospel of the kingdom to 
every creature, agreeably to the prophecy and com- 
mand of the Saviour, who had also said, "Ye shall 
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all 
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
parts of the earth/' — Acts i, 8. Thus we perceive 
that the gospel of the kingdom was as universal 
in the apostolic preaching as the baptismal formula 
was in their baptizing. We rightly conclude that 
baptizing "into the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Spirit/' was practiced every- 
where by the apostles, although we find that precise 
formula but once in the Bible ; once being quite 
enough to render it a law. — Matt, xxviii, 19. On 
the same principal of interpretation we must con- 
clude that "the gospel of the kingdom" was 
preached everywhere the apostles went, for the 
words of the Master — "this gospel of the kingdom 
shall be preached in all the world " — most plainly 
required them to preach it. And this is even 
clearer, if possible, than the universality of the 
baptismal formula ; for we have frequent allusion 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 37 

to the preaching of the kingdom by the apostles. 
Thus we find Philip in Samaria "preaching the 
things concerning the kingdom of God, and the 
name of Jesus Christ." — Acts viii, 12. Also Paul 
in Ephesus, and other places, preaching "the things 
concerning the kingdom of God." — Acts xix, 8 ; 
xx, 25. In Rome he dwelt two whole years, 
" preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching 
those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ." 
— Acts xxviii, 23, 31. 

As the Bible teaches but one faith and one hope, 
so also it recognizes but out gospel, and pronounces 
a double curse on man or angel who shall dare to 
"preach any other gospel." — Eph. iv, 5; Gal. i, 
8, 9. And now, after the preceding testimonies, 
can you doubt what is that one gospel? Surely it 
can be none other than " This gospel of the king- 
dom" which the Saviour said should " be 
preached in all the world ;" and which was carried 
to one place " as " to another, for Paul tells the 
Colossians that it had to come unto them "as 
(kathos just as) in all the world." — Col. i, 6, 23. 
And since there is but one gospel, it follows that 
it is "this gospel of the kingdom" of which the 
Bible says, " He that believeth not shall be damn- 
ed."— Mark xvi, 15, 16. Behold then the awful 
penalty of either preaching or believing " any other 
gospel " than " this gospel of the kingdom." 

Of course, to preach the gospel of the kingdom 
is not to merely repeat that phrase again and again 



38 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

in the hearing of the people ; for what information 
could they possibly gain by such a procedure? 
The word translated " gospel " (euaggelion) means 
" a good message, glad tidings, joyful news." To 
preach the gospel of the kingdom therefore is to 
preach those things which constitute the good mes- 
sage, or " glad tidings of the kingdom." This is 
illustrated in the case of Philip who in Samaria 
preached the gospel of the kingdom by preaching 
" the things concerning the kingdom of God, and 
the name of Jesus Christ." — Acts viii, 12. And 
we know that the preaching of Philip, in Samaria 
harmonized with that of Paul in Corinth, and with 
that of all the apostles in all places ; for there was 
but one gospel preached by them all. As Moses 
did not give two or more opposite codes of law 
for the Mosaic dispensation ; so neither did Christ 
give two or more opposite gospels for the present 
dispensation. But as anciently there were some 
who perverted the law of Moses by their tradition, 
so now there are some who pervert the gospel of 
the kingdom by their tradition. Since, however? 
it was necessary for the Samaritans to believe "the 
things concerning the kingdom of God, and the 
name of Jesus Christ," it is just as necessary for 
us to believe the same things ; for it is our duty 
to " hold fast the form of sound words ;" to "earn- 
estly contend for the faith once delivered to the 
saints f to " ask for the old paths and walk in 
them."— 2 Tim. i, 13; Jude 3; Jer. vi, 16. 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 39 

We have now proved that the only way to 
preach or believe the gospel of the kingdom is to 
preach or believe those great truths of which that 
gospel consists. This brings us to the important 
question, " Of what truths does that gospel con- 
sist ?" Those truths, according to the plain 
teaching of the Bible, are — 

1. That it will be a divine kingdom, as its name 
implies — "the kingdom of heaven," or "the king- 
dom of God." It is called by these names because 
it is a kingdom which " the God of heaven will 
set up." — Dan. ii, 44. It will be as far superior 
to human kingdoms as light is superior to dark- 
ness. But although its king and princes will be 
spiritual beings, yet they will be none the less really 
present in bodily and tangible form. If this 
audience were composed of angels instead of mor- 
tals, it would be strictly a spiritual audience, and 
yet visible and tangible, for the angels have tangible 
and visible bodies. Three dined at the tent door 
of Abraham, and he brought water to wash their 
feet. Afterwards, two lodged in the house of Lot, 
ate unleavened cakes, and grasped him and his 
family by the hands to hurry them out of Sodom. 
One wrestled with Jacob, and by a touch caused 
him to limp ; " for a token " as Scott says, " that 
it was a reality, and not a dream, or vision, or delu- 
sive imagination" Of course, Jacob could not lay 
hold on and wrestle with an intangible "ghost." 
Well, we know that the risen and glorified saints 



40 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

will be " equal unto the angels ;" yea more, the 
blessed Redeemer will " change " (not annihilate) 
their bodies, and fashion them " like unto his glo- 
rious body." — Luke xx, 36 ; Phil, iii, 21. And we 
have many " infallible proofs " that his body was 
visible and tangible, for it came forth from the 
tomb after the stone was rolled away ; it had "flesh 
and bones," and could be seen and handled ; he 
did also eat and drink with his disciples after his 
resurrection. — Luke xxiv, 39, 40 ; Acts i, 3 ; x, 41. 
2- The Scriptures also testify that the kingdom, 
although divine and heavenly or heaven-like, will 
be on this earth. The covenants with Abraham 
and David show that a gracious necessity exists for 
the return of Christ and His reign in Jerusalem 
over the land of Canaan and the whole earth. We 
see not how those "promises made unto the fathers" 
can ever be fulfilled unless He shall return, take 
possession of the earth, and establish His kingdom 
here. When the Lord Jesus says " my kingdom 
is not of this world," he does not mean that it will 
not be on the earth, but rather that it is not of this 
world as to origin or source ; for the preposition 
eh translated " of," is frequently used with reference 
to the origin or source of a thing. So the apostles 
and the baptism of John were truly and literally 
on the earth and in the world; and yet the baptism 
was not "of (ek) men," nor were the apostles "'of 
(ek) the world," Certainly those who say that the 
church is the kingdom admit that the kingdom is 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 41 

in the world, for the church is here. The territory 
or land-basis of the kingdom is a prominent item 
of the gospel of the kingdom, Almost the first 
thing that a school-boy finds in his geography 
concerning any human kingdon is a description of 
its whereabouts, its territory, its area, etc. Then 
he reads of the royal family, the capital city, the 
constitution, the condition of the populace, etc. 
And this illustrates, in some degree, the method in 
which the Bible treats of that divine kingdom 
which is the great theme of Scripture, from Gene- 
sis to Revelation. 

The Saviour said, " The kingdom of heaven is 
like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man 
took, and sowed in h\s field" He afterwards ex- 
plained to his disciples that " the field is the world" 
— Matt, xiii, 31, 38. This teaches most plainly, 
that the kingdom, though a celestial germ, is to be 
implanted and to grow in terrestrial soil. And the 
same is taught " without a parable," when the dis- 
ciples, though on earth, are told to pray, " Thy 
kingdom come." The New Jerusalem will be on 
earth, and "the THRONE of God and of the 
Lamb shall be in it;" hence that throne also will 
be on earth. — Rev. xxi, 2, 10. with xxii, 3. Could 
we desire any plainer language than the assurance 
that " his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, 
and from the river to the ends of the earth." — Zech. 
ix, 10. That it shall fill " the whole earth."— Dan. 
ii, 35. That " the kingdom, the dominion and the 



42 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven 
shall be given to the people of the saints of the 
Most High ?"— Dan. vii, 27. That " the kingdoms 
of this world " shall become our Lord's and his 
Christ's? — Rev. xi, 15. That Christ shall have 
the heathen for his inheritance and " the uttermost 
parts of the earth" for his possession? — Psalm ii, 
8. Surely I have quoted testimony enough to 
prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the 
kingdom will be on earth. The celebrated Dean 
Alford says, " That the Lord will come in person 
to this our earth ; that His risen elect will reign 
here with Him and judge ; that during that blessed 
reign the power of evil will be bound, and the 
glorious prophecies of peace and truth on earth 
find their accomplishment; — this is my firm per- 
suasion, and not mine alone, but that of multitudes 
of Christ's waiting people, as it was of his primitive 
apostolic church." — Prol. to vol. iv of N. T. 

3. That it will be an everlasting kingdom, that 
shall not pass away, and of which there shall be no 
end. In proof of this I need only refer you to the 
following testimonies : "Of his kingdom there shall 
be no end." — Luke i, 33. " The everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." — 2 
Pet. i, 11. " His dominion is an everlasting do- 
minion, which shall not pass away, and his king- 
dom that which shall not be destroyed." — Dan. vii, 
14, 27. " The God of heaven shall set up a king- 
dom which shall never be destroyed ; and the 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 43 

kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it 
shall break in pieces and consume all these king- 
doms, and it shall stand forever." — Dan. ii, 44. 

4. That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 
and has been appointed by the Father to be the 
King in that kingdom. Nathaniel confessed, 
" Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the 
King of Israel. " — John i, 49. Peter also confessed, 
Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." 
— Mat. xvi, 16. It is to Him that the Father 
says, " I will give thee the heathen for thine in- 
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
thy possession." — Psa. ii, 8. It is of him the pro- 
phet says, " His dominion shall be from sea even 
to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." 
— Zech. ix, 10. He is called the " mighty God," 
and will come in the glory of his Father to take 
his seat on the throne. — Isa. ix, 6, 7 ; Mat. xxv, 
31. Accordingly the kingdom is called " the king- 
dom of Christ and of God." — Eph. v, 5; "the 
kingdom of our Lord and his Christ." — Rev. xi, 
15; "the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ." — 2 Pet. i, 11. Peter, in 
saying that an entrance shall be — not has been — 
ministered to the saints into that kingdom, shows 
that the kingdom is yet future; while Daniel (vii, 
27) in saying of the very same kingdom that it 
shall be " under the whole heaven," shows that it 
will be on earth. Now by adding together these 
two testimonies, we discover that God is hereafter 



44 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

to establish an everlasting kingdom on earth, into 
which all who hold out faithful are yet to enter. 
This argument alone proves that the kingdom is 
not the church, but the reward of the church. To 
his church the Lord has promised, saying *' Fear 
not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleas- 
ure to give to you the kingdom." — Luke xii, 32. 
And when will he give it to the little flock ? Mark 
well the answer : — " When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, 
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. ... 
Then shall the King say unto them on his right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom."— Mat. xxv, 31, 34. 

5. That in order to obtain an inheritance in 
that kingdom a person must become righteous ; " for 
the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of 
God." — lCor. vi, 9. It is " promised to them that 
love him," Jas. ii, 5 ; to u the saints of the Most 
High," Dan. vii, 18, 22; to the " little flock," 
Luke xii, 32 ; to " the righteous," Mat. xxv, 34, 
37. Therefore the Saviour directs us to " seek first 
the kingdom of God and his righteousness." — Mat. 
vi, 33. The kingdom is the aim and end ; right- 
eousness is the road to it. That righteousness comes 
only through Christ, and by the merits of his 
atonement, or at-one-ment, as the word implies. 
" Christ died for our sins." — 1 Cor. xv, 3. " By 
the obedience of one shall many be made right- 
eous." — Rom. v, 19. "Christ is the end of the 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 45 

Jaw for righteousnesss to every one that believeth." 
Rom. x, 4. 

That righteousness, long ago purchased by the 
precious blood of Christ, is now individually ap- 
plied to the believer of the gospel of the kingdom 
when he is baptized for the remission of sins ; for 
such is the plain requirements of Scripture, " re- 
pent and be baptized every one of you, in the name 
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins" — ''arise 
and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on 
the name of the Lord." — Acts ii, 38 ; xxii, 16. 
After the believer has been thus baptized, he is said 
to be in Christ ; and if any man be in Christ Jesus, 
he is a new creature, for there is no condemnation 
to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 
after the flesh but after the Spirit. — 2 Cor. v, 17 ; 
Rom. viii, 1. 

6. And that in order to inherit the kingdom a 
person must also be made immortal ; for flesh and 
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. — 1 Cor. 
xv, 50. On this text Adam Clarke has truly said : 
" Man in his present state cannot inherit the king- 
dom of God ; his nature is not suited to that place. 
. . . Paul is certainly not speaking of flesh and 
blood in a moral sense, to signify corruption of 
mind and heart ; but in a natural sense." Scott 
also, after describing the change which takes place 
in those who shall arise from the grave, says, "A 
similar change must also be made in the bodies of 
those who shall be found alive at the day of judg- 



46 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

ment: for flesh and blood, the human body in its 
present form and gross manner of subsistence, and 
with its present animal wants, propensities, and in- 
firmities, cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 

That immortality is to be obtained through 
Christ alone, at the resurrection. "The wages of 
sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life 
through our Lord Jesus Christ." — Rom. vi, 23. 
" This corruptible must put on incorruption, and 
this mortal must put on immortality. So, when 
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, 
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then 
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 
death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where 
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? — 1 
Cor. xv, 53-55. 

I have now proved that to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ is to believe the gospel 
of the kingdom, which teaches that he 
will come and establish that kingdom on 



RECTION. 

This is that " great salvation which at the first 
began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed 
unto us by them that heard him." — Heb. ii, 3. 
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great salva- 
tion ? " This is a solemn question which neither 
man nor angel can answer, for there is no escape 
for any who neglect it. You need not revile or 



WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 47 

oppose, but merely neglect it, to insure your de- 
struction. You have heard the question, " What 
must I do to be saved ? " Now if you ask "What 
must I do to be lost f " I answer, " Do nothing ! 
you are rushing along the track to perdition ; just 
keep your seat, you need not change cars at all ; 
remain as you are, without hope, without Christ, 
and without God in the world ; go away from here 
to-day just as you came ; continue to neglect — only 
to neglect — so great salvation ; and you cannot es- 
cape the consuming wrath of God." Do you pro- 
test that you have not committed any great sin to 
deserve such a fate ? I answer, that the sin of 
omission — the sin of not believing — is a great sin 
and worthy of death ; for " he that believeth not 
shall be damned."— Mark xvi, 16. " Without faith 
it is impossible to please God." — Heb. xi, 6. So 
you see, that if your entire life until now could 
have been pure as the white lily in the morning 
dew, this would not relieve you from the necessity 
of believing the gospel of the kingdom. 

I have shown you that the Son of God preached 
the gospel of the kingdom, and that "he that be- 
lieveth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath 
of God abideth on him." — John hi, 36. Oh, think 
of the wrath of God ! The wrath of him of whose 
power and sublimity we have astonishing examples 
in the creation of man — of the starry sky — of the 
troubled ocean — of majestic rivers — deafening cata- 
racts — lofty mountains — volcanoes — earthq uakes 



48 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? 

the solar system — the universe. Of him in whose 
path yonder great blazing sun is but as a glittering 
sand; while the myriads of stars that form the 
Milky- way are as trembling white lilies that fringe 
the pearly track of his chariot wheels. Of the 
wrath of him with whom " the nations are as a 
drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust 
of the balance." — Isa. xl, 15. " O, who can stand 
before his indignation, aud who can abide the 
fierceness of his anger ?" — Nahum i, 6 

Unless you believe, you will have to " die in your 
mis." O how different is this from dying in 
Christ — from falling asleep in Jesus — from dying 
the death of the righteous and having your last 
end like his! Have you never thought of the 
kind of death you would prefer? When quite a 
young man I attended on several occasions at the 
bedside of a gentleman who was dying of dropsy ; 
and the excruciating pain he suffered as the water 
rose higher and higher, and crowded around his 
heart, filled my mind with a horror of that disease, 
and caused me to inwardly pray that the Lord 
would never allow me to die that way. But what 
is that compared to the pain and horror of dying 
in your sins ? 

Better die in the deepest and most fearful dun- 
geon that the ingenuity and cruelty of man could 
invent, than to die in your sins. Better die in the 
pest-house, reeking with small pox and every other 
contagious disease, and avoided by your nearest 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 49 

friends, than to die in your sins. Better die in 
the devouring jaws of wild beasts, all mangled and 
torn to pieces, than to die in your sins. Better 
die in the flames of martyrdom, at the burning 
stake, surrounded by a hissing crowd of persecu- 
tors, than to die in your sins. Better die in a 
midnight storm, " far, far at sea," and sink down 
into its dark depths with no eye to pity and no 
arm to save, your cries of distress being drowned 
by the roar of the winds and billows, than to die 
in your sins. Better die in the appalling flash 
of a thunderbolt, without one moment's warning 
to say, " God be merciful to me," and with no 
time to bid farewell to father or mother, sister or 
brother, wife or children, than to die in your sins. 
Better die in the fearful spasms of hydrophobia, 
when it would be considered an act of mercy to 
smother you between two feather beds, than to die 
in your sins. Better die on a pallet of straw, in 
starvation, solitude and neglect, with no one to 
give you a cup of cold water or a crust of bread, 
than to die in your sins. And yet surely, surely, 
you will die in your sins unless you believe and 
obey the gospel of the kingdom. 

To speak of obeying the gospel implies that it 
carries with it commands to be obeyed, as well as 
truths to be believed. In the great commission un- 
der which the apostles were sent into all the world, 
they were instructed to baptize those who believed. 
Go, teach all nations, baptizing them — " he that 
3 



50 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

believeth and is baptized shall be saved." — Mat. 
xxxviii, 19; Mark xvi, 15, 16. 

And thus it is that in the very first sermon 
preached by the apostles under that commission, 
we find them commanding their hearers to be 
" baptized for the remission of sins." — Acts ii, 38. 
xVlso when Peter preached at the house of Corne- 
lius the believers were commanded to be baptized. 
Ac. x, 48. In like manner the command was given* 
to Paul " Arise and be baptized and wash away 
thy sins." — Acts xxii, 16. I might refer to more 
instances, but these are enough to prove that bapt- 
ism is one of the great commands of the gospel. 
And " what shall the end be of them that obey 
not the gospel?" This question is asked by Peter, 
and answered by Paul: "The Lord Jesus shall 
be revealed from heaven in naming fire taking 
vengeance on them that know not God and obey 
not the gospel."— 1 Pet iv, 17 ; 2 Thess. i, 8. 
But it is a precious privilege that though your 
sins would hurl you headlong into the consuming 
billows of the lake of fire, yet you are permitted to 
go down into the cool and pleasant baptismal wa- 
ters and wash away thy sins through the merits of the 
blood of the Lamb. 

Yes, baptism is a command of God. Then why 
not be " baptized straightway V Can you frame 
an excuse that will be sufficient in the sight of him 
who knows every thought of your heart? Look 
at Calvary, and see the tender form of the loving 



HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 51 

Saviour stretched upon the cruel cross, and bleed- 
ing from his head, his hands, his feet, and even 
from his heart— -for you ! Surely " the love of 
Christ constraineth us " to keep His command- 
ments. — 2 Cor. v, 14. Look forward to the res- 
urrection morn, and see the pearly gates of the New 
Jerusalem ; over them in blazing letters that gleam 
far out over hill and vale, behold the words, 
" Blessed are they that do his commandments that 
they may have right to the tree of life, and may 
enter in through the gates into the city/' See the 
white- robed and shining ranks of the redeemed ; 
every face is like an angePs face, and beams with 
unutterable joy, as with eager steps they press 
through those white and pearly gates that stand 
wide open to receive them; while from within 
bright angel-choirs hymn sweet welcomes, and 
strike their golden harps afresh to sing the triumphs 
of redeeming love. But who are those who stand 
in outer darkness, clothed in rags ; their eyes all 
red and swollen with weeping ; their faces pinched 
and shrunken with huuger, thirst and woe? They, 
too, thought to enter these beautiful gates ; but, 
no, the angels cl6sed the great golden bolts, and 
pointed to the blazing words above — " Blessed are 
they that do his commandments, that they may 
have right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
through the gates into the city." — B,ev. xxii, 14. 

O then "why tarriest thou? Arise and be 
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the 



52 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 

name of the Lord." Hear the blessed Saviour's 
tender and loving invitation — "Come unto me all 
ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give 
you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me, 
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." — 
Mat. xi, 28, 30. The Father himself invites you; 
yes, the great Jehovah himself condescends to plead 
with you — "Come now, and let us reason together, 
saith the Lord ; though your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall be white as snow; though they be red like 
crimson, they shall be as wool." — Tsa. i, 18. An- 
gels rejoice over one sinner that repenteth. Saints 
on earth are glad to welcome you into the Church 
of Christ. Begin to-day to lead the Christian life. 
The Bible nowhere tells you to put it off until to- 
morrow, but " to-day if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts." 



THIRD DISCOURSE. 



THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS; OR, 
THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 

" Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the cir- 
cumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises 
made unto the fathers." — Rom. xv, 8. 

Surely there can be no rational doubt as to the 
importance of our knowing the blessed Redeemer 
to whatever extent He has clearly revealed him- 



THE PROMISES MADE UNTO'THE FATHERS. 53 

self in Scripture. Such a knowledge of Him is a 
mark of our being members of His flock, for He 
says, " I know my sheep and am known of mine." 
— Jno. x, 14. Hence we are commanded to "Grow 
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." — 2 Pet. iii, 18. Now a clear understand- 
ing of this text will greatly increase our knowledge 
of Him and of that gospel of the kingdom which 
He and His apostles preached. To obtain a clear 
understanding of Paul's language in this verse, let 
us first enquire, who are " the fathers ? " and then, 
what are " the promises " made to them ? 

1st. Who are the fathers? Moses was com- 
manded to say to the children of Israel, u The 
Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, 
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent 
me unto you." — Ex. iii,* 15. And Peter says, 
" The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Ja- 
cob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son 
Jesus." — Ac. iii, 13. These testimonies, one from 
each Testament, are enough to show that Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob are the fathers. But in another 
place Paul has clearly enough explained himself 
and settled the question, saying " To Abraham and 
his seed were the promises made." — Gal. iii, 16. 
And because those promises were substantially re- 
peated to Isaac and Jacob they are called " the 
promises made unto the fathers," in the plural 
number. 

2nd. What are the promises made to them ? 



54 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS ; 

They are fuund in the history of those patriarchs 
as recorded in Genesis. When Abraham left 
Mesopotamia and came into the land of Canaan the 
Lord said to him, " Unto thy seed will I give 
this land. . . . Lift up now thine eyes, and look 
from the place where thou are northward and 
southward, and eastward, and westward : for all 
the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it 
and to thy seed forever. . . . The Lord made 
a covenant with Abraham, saying, unto thy seed 
have I given* this land from the river of Egypt 
unto the great river, the river Euphrates. ... I 
will establish my covenant between me and thee, 
and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an 
everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and 
to thy seed after thee. I will give unto thee, and 
to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a 
stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting 
possession ; and I will be their God. . . . Thy 
seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in 
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed." — Gen. xii, 7 : xiii, 14, 15 : xv, 18 : xvii, 
7,8: xxii, 17, 18. 

That substantially the same promises were re- 
peated to Isaac and Jacob is verified by the fact 
that, about 67 years after the last promise that I 



* Said " when as yet he had no child, " but " calling those 
things which be not as though they were," to emphasize the 
promise. — Ac. vii, 5 : Rom. iv, 17. 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 00 

have quoted, the Lord said to Isaac who was 
dwelling in the same land, "Unto thee, and unto 
thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will 
perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy 
father. . . And in thy seed shall all the nations of 
the earth be blessed ."-Gen. xxvi, 3, 4. About forty- 
four years after these promises to Isaac, the Lord said 
to Jacob, who was also dwelling in the same land, 
" I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and 
the God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to 
thee will I give it, and to thy seed. . . . And 
in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed." — Gen. xxviii, 13, 14. When about to 
die Jacob said, " God Almighty appeared unto me 
at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and 
said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful and 
multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multi- 
tude of people; and I will give this land to thy 
seed after thee for an everlasting possesssion." — Gen. 
xlviii, 3, 4. 

Having now learned what are the promises, 
let us bring out their full meaning by carefully 
considering the following important points — who 
are the heirs? where is the inheritance? how long 
will they hold it? the certainty of the promises; 
and how may individuals obtain a personal interest 
in them? 

1. Who are the heirs? It is plain enough who 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were, but perhaps there 
are some who imagine that the word " Seed " here 



56 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS J 

refers to the Jews who came into the land of Canaan 
under Joshua. This question, however, is not left 
to human conjecture, for the inspired Paul has 
settled it plainly and forever. O that all the world, 
wherever the Bible is read, would hear this explana- 
tion, and would understand its full import. — " To 
Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. 
He saith not ( And to seeds/ as of many, but as of 
one, 'And to thy Seed,' which is CHRIST."— 
Gal. iii, 16. In these words, "And to thy seed," 
hai to spermati sou, Paul makes an exact quotation, 
word for word, from the Greek version of Gen. 
xiii, 15 ; xvii, 8, both of which places refer to the 
promise of the land. In Gen. xvii, 7, the Greek 
words are sou, hai tou spermatos sou, which literally 
rendered would be "of thee, and of thy seed." 
Neither can Paul's quotation be found in Gen. 
xxii, 18, for the words there are "and in thy seed/' 
hai en to spermati sou. Common fairness requires 
us to observe the critical exactness of the quotation, 
which is a key to its meaning. That Paul refers 
to the (and is further evident from his calling it 
" the inheritance," ver. 18. Because the promise 
of the landed inheritance is so often repeated, and 
involves or comprehends within itself so many 
other promises, it may rightly be called " die 
promises," in the plutal. 



* Lightfoot, a celebrated Greek and Hebrew scholar, 
viewed the words, " And to thy seed " as quoted from Geii. 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 57 

The word "Seed" is frequently used of a single 
person; it has this meaning in Gen. iii, 15: 2 Saral. 
vii, 12, as its pronoun " His/' in the singular num- 
ber sufficiently proves. And Liddell and Scott's 
Lexicon refers to various Greek authors who also 
use it in this way. 

Here then we discover that, in the very plainest 
and most positive manner, a real and tangible 
inheritance on this earth has been promised to 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Christ, for an ever- 
lasting or eternal possession. (That everlas- 
ting and eternal have the same force, neither more 
nor less, you may perceive by noticing that "ever- 
lasting life" and "eternal life" are used 
interchangeably and synonymously in the Bible. — 
Lu. xviii, 30, with Mark x, 30. They are both 
translations of the same Greek word, aionios.) 
But the Bible just as clearly shows that although 
Christ and all of those "fathers" have sojourned 
personally on that land, yet none of them obtained 
the promised possession of it. Concerning Abra- 
ham it is testified that the Lord " gave him none 
inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot 
on ; yet He promised that He would give it to 
him." — Ac. vii, 5. Nor did Isaac and Jacob fare 
any better, for "all these died in the faith, NOT 
having received the promises." — Heb. xi, 13, 39. 

xiii, 15, and xvii, 8, and he said, "It is true that in both 
alike the inheritance spoken of refers primarily to the pos- 
sesion of the land of Canaan." 



58 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THR FATHERS; 

And the blessed Saviour, in the very zenith of 
His personal ministry on earth, testified concern- 
ing himself that "the foxes have holes and the 
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man 
hath not where to lay His head." — Matt, viii, 20. 
" He came unto His own (ta idia), and His own 
{hoi idioi) received Him not ;" or "He came to 
His own land, and His own people received Him 
not."— Campbell's edition, 1832.— -Jno. i, 11. In 
Greek the f >rmor "His own" is of a different gender 
from the latter, implying a difference in the mean- 
ing.* That land is particularly called ImraanuePs 
by virtue of "the promises." — Isa. viii, 8. But 
although His enemies rejected and crucified Him, 
he arose from the dead and ascended to heaven. 
And from that day until now "the land of promise" 
has been desecrated by wicked men. But it would 
be acting the part of an unbeliever to conclude 
from this that the promises have become a failure, 
or that they ought to be tortured into some other 
than their true meaning. " The Scripture cannot 
be broken." — Jno. x, 35. "Though the vision 
tarry, wait for* it; because it will surely come" — 
Hab. ii, 3. 

The blessed Immanuel foresaw that the people 
then occupying His land would reject Him, and so 



* " Abundance of passages bear out the meaning which 
makes ta idia His own inheritance or possession i. e. Judea ; 
and hoi idioi, the Jews. Compare especially Mat. xxi, 33, 
&c." — Dean Alford. 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 59 

He spoke two parables which, viewed in succession, 
afford a thrilling outline of events from His first 
coming as a " Lamb " to suffer and die, till His 
return as a " Lion " to conquer and reign. In the 
parable of the Vineyard He is " the Heir " of 
whom the wicked husbandmen say, " Come, let us 
kill Him, and let us seize on His inheritance." — 
Mat. xxi, 33-39. This represents His inheritance 
as on earth, for, of course, they could not expect 
to seize an inheritance above the skies by killing 
Him. And having crucified Him, His resurrection 
intervenes at this point, as the golden link which 
connects this parable with that of the Pounds ; for 
without His resurrection the latter parable could 
not be fulfilled. — Lu. xix, 12-27. In this parable 
we behold the risen " Heir " as the " Nobleman," 
arrayed in the princely attire of immortality and 
going into the " far country to receive for himself 
a kingdom, and to return." Yes, by a glorious 
retinue of holy angels, He is escorted from the top 
of Olivet through the shining pathway of the skies, 
through the crystal ports of light, and seated at the 
Father's right hand. And while the bereaved and 
sorrowing disciples were looking "steadfastly to- 
ward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood 
by them in white apparel ; which also said, Ye 
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into hea- 
ven ? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you 
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have 
seen Him go into heaven." — Ac. i. 11. The para- 



60 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS | 

ble of the Pounds is based on the fact that the 
kings of Judea in those days used, before commenc- 
ing their reign, to go on a journey to Rome in a 
far country to be invested with the royalty ; after 
which they would return and reign in Judea. 
Herod and Archelausare notable instances of this. 
And so although the Saviour's kingdom will be on 
earth, He has gone to heaven to receive it, or rather 
" to procure for himself the royalty ;" as Campbell's 
edition, 1832, renders it. He would not accept 
His crown either from the multitude or from Sa- 
tan, but only from His omnipotent Father who 
alone has the right to give it — Jno. vi, 15: Lu. 
iv, 6, 7. 

And when He returns, having been divinely in- 
vested with the royalty " then shall He sit upon 
the throne of His glory," and establish in the land 
of promise a glorious and divine kingdom which 
will quickly and miraculously " break in pieces " 
all human kingdoms, and, like a great mountain, 
fill " the whole earth ;" for His dominion shall be 
from sea even to sea, and from the river to the 
end* of the earth." — Mat. xxv, 31 ; Dan. ii, 35, 
44 , Zee. ix, 10. Thus throughout the world He 
will " possess the gate of His enemies," and great 
voices will be heard saying, " The kingdoms of this 
world are become our Lord's and His Christ's ; 
and He shall reign forever and ever." — Gen. xxii, 
17 ; Rev. xi, 15. And because the full scope of 
the promise to Abraham and his seed involves all 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 61 

this extensive inheritance, Paul speaks of it as the 
promise of " the world" — Rom. iv, 13. - 

But will the merciful Redeemer refuse to asso- 
ciate with himself in that glorious kingdom any of 
Adam's race except Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; 
filling all its remaining seats with holy angels from 
heaven ? No, the mercy of God has " provided 
some better thing " for the sons and daughters of 
our fallen race. The relationship which every be- 
liever sustains to Christ makes that believer a joint 
heir with Christ. "As many of you as have been 
baptized into Christ have put on Christ . . . Ye 
are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, 
then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according 
to the promise . . . Heirs of God and joint- 
heirs with Jesus Christ." — Gal. iii, 27, 29 ; Rom. 
viii, 17. Christ is pre-eminently Abraham's Seed, 
but believers being reckoned by adoption as all 
one in and with Christ, they too are Abraham's 
seed (though multitudinous) and therefore they are 
joint-heirs with Him.* So intimate is the union 
between Christ and believers that they are called 
" the body of Christ," and " are members of His 
body, of His flesh, and of His bones." — 1 Cor. xii, 
27 ; Ephes. v, 30. They are also, collectively 



* "This one seed that receives the promise is Christ, and 
in Him all believers, who constitute His body. All that 
are united to Christ by faith are in and through Him, 
Abraham's seed, and heirs of the promise made to Abra- 
ham." — Notes of American Tract Society. 



62 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS J 

and by a figure of speech, called " The Bride the 
Lamb's wife," all of which proves their joint- 
heirship with Him. — Rev. xxi, 9. I have now 
shown that Christ and the Saints are the heirs ; 
and that the inheritance will be obtained at the 
second coming of Christ. 

Here let me answer several objections concern- 
ing the heirs. I have met some persons who 
without properly examining the subject have ima- 
gined that the promised inheritance was obtained 
when Israel settled in Canaan under the law of 
Moses. But this error is at once refuted by the 
positive declaration of Scripture that they "pos- 
sessed it but A LITTLE WHILE;" whereas the 
covenant with Abraham promises an everlastinc/ 
possession of it. — Isa. lxiii, 18, with Gen. xvii, 8. 
And even during the little while of their dwelling 
upon it, they occupied but a small portion of the 
large territory covenanted to Abraham ; and were 
forbidden to take the part occupied by the Edom- 
ites, Moabites and Ammonites. — Deut. ii, 5, 9, 
19. The law or " constitution " under which 
they were settled positively declared them to be 
"sojourners" i. e. temporary residents on the land. 
Lev. xxv, 23. Hence, in the very height of their 
national triumph and prosperity, their inspired 
king David said " We are strangers before thee, 
and sojourners, as were all of our fathers." — 
1 Chron. xxix, 15; Heb. xi, 9. Their occupa- 
tion of the land under the law was made condi- 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 63 

tional on their keeping the law. — (Dent, xi, 22, 
24) ; but the covenant with Abraham which after 
being confirmed was not to be added to, imposed 
no such conditions as this. Hence the Scripture 
positively teaches that the inheritance promised to 
Abraham was not of the law. — Gal. iii, 15, 18. 
About seven centuries after they entered Canaan a 
holy prophet spoke of the Abrahamic covenant as 
still unfulfilled, for he says (not " thou hast per- 
formed/' but) "Thou wilt perform the truth to 
Jacob and the mercy to Abraham which thou hast 
sworn unto our fathers from the days of old."— 
Mic. vii, 20. And Paul, glancing at a long suc- 
cession of good men who lived there during the 
law, says, "These all, having obtained a good 
report through faith, received not the promise : 
God having provided some better thing for us, 
that they without us should not be made perfect." 
Heb. xi, 39, 40.* This reminds us of some great 
estate of which the older heirs cannot obtain their 
portion till the younger become of age — till the 
number of their brethren be made up. — Rev. vi, 1 1. 
In the writings of one Professor Bush, of Ameri- 
ca, and a Bishop Waldegrave, of England, it has 
been gravely suggested (apparently with the view 
of restricting it to Israel under the law) that 



* " They received not the promises, i. e., the final comple- 
tion of salvation promised at Christ's coming again : the 
eternal inheritance, Heb. ix, 15, 28." — The Portable Com- 
mentary 



64 THE PROMISES MADE UKTO THE FATHERS ; 

the promise ought to be read " To thee even to 
thy seed " instead of " To thee and to thy seed." 
This would exclude Abraham personally from the 
inheritance. But the common version correctly 
includes Abraham — "To thee and to thy seed." 
" He promised that He would give it to him for a 
possession and to his seed." — Ac. vii, 5. " To 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made." 
Gal. iii, 16. "To thee and to thy seed WITH 
thee," which implies that the patriarchs and the 
seedy " which is Christ" will both possess it at the 
same time; hence they will then be "ever with 
the Lord." — Gen. xxviii, 4 ; 1 Thes. iv, 1(3, 17. 
Any rendering which would exclude Abraham 
personally would contradict the word of the Lord 
who says, " I am the Lord that brought thee out 
of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to 
inherit it." — Gen. xv, 7. " I have also established 
my covenant with them (Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob) to give them the land of Canaan." — Ex. 
vi, 4.* Abraham went into the "place which he 



* This text with Ex. iii, 0, shows they Avill be resurrected 
and put in possession of the land, lor the Saviour quotes 
the latter text as proof of their resurrection. — Lu. xx, 37. 
The last of these patriarchs had been dead nearly 200 years 
and yet the inheritance is spoken of (vi, 4 ) as yet to be given ; 
which proves they did not obtain the promised Canaan at 
death, as some imagine. The following is said to occur in 
the Jewish Talmud.—" In what place does the Law support 
the resurrection of the dead.? Truly when it is said, And 
I have also established my covenant with them., to give 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 65 

he should after receive for an inheritance/' and 
dwelt with Isaac and Jacob "the heirs with 
him of the same promise." — Heb. xi, 8, 9. Let 
us kindly suppose that Bush and YValdegrave 
were betrayed into making that stupid sugges- 
tion through ignorance of the lucid explanation 
which Paul has given of the promises. If the 
promised inheritance was only intended for " Is- 
rael after the flesh" — the merely natural seed 
who lived in Canaan under the law of Moses — 
then not Abraham alone but we also would be 
excluded from the inheritance. But Paul's in- 
spired explanation most positively forbids the 
application of the promise to the merely natural 
Jews under the Mosaic law, for he says that the 
" seed " specified in the covenant is CHRIST : 
and hence Abraham and other believers (even 
allowing the promise to be read, " To thee even 
to thy seed ") are not yet disinherited, but 
rather have their portion secured to them in 
Christ, with whom all the righteous are "joint- 
heirs." — Romans viii, 17. And O! I rejoice 
that all depends on Christ at last; that He, in 
whom " all the promises of God " are yea and 

them the land of Canaan. For it is not said, to give you, 
bnt to give them." Irenseus, pronounced " one of the best 
Christian writers of the second century," speaks of the 
inheritance promised Abraham, and says, " He shall receive 
it at the resurrection of the just. 7 ' — Against Heresies, B. Y. 
ch. xxxii, Edition of Clark, Edinburgh. 



66 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS; 

amen, is the rich Depositary of all these blessings. 
2 Cor. i, 20. In Him our title stands secure, and 
in Him we read our title clear; not to " mansions 
in the skies" but in the promised land of Canaan 
and the whole earth, which, by His beautiful and 
glorious presence will be gladdened and regen- 
erated into an " heavenly country." 

2. Where is the inheritance? The promises 
plainly enough prove that it will be on earth. 
The demonstrative pronoun " this," five times used, 
ought to settle that matter. " Unto thy seed will 
I give this land." — " To give thee this land." — 
"This land, from the river of Egypt unto the 
great river, the river Euphrates." Did any one 
ever hear of such rivers above the skies? — "The 
Lord God of heaven that sware unto me, saying, 
Unto thy seed will I give this land." — "I will 
give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlast- 
ing possession. " — Gen. xii, 7 ; xv, 7, 18 : xxiv, 7 : 
xlviii, 3, 4. It must be admitted that the holy 
and inspired Stephen interpreted the promise as 
referring to a Canaan on earth, for he spoke of it to 
the wicked Jews as " this land wherein ye now 
dwell." — Ac. vii, 4. It was described to Jacob as 
" The land whereon thou liest ; " and to 
Abraham as " The land wherein thou art a stran- 
ger." — Gen. xxviii, 13 : xvii, 8. And in Heb. xi, 
9, we are taught that Abraham actually went " into 
the place (eiston topon) which he should after re- 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 67 

ceive for an inheritance" and sojourned in it.* 
We can form some further idea of the importance 
and excellence of that land from the following ex- 
pressions applied to it in Scripture : — It is called 
the Lord's land ; Lev. xxv, 23. ImmanueFs 
land ; Isa. viii, 8. The pleasant land ; Psa. cvi, 
24. The glorious land ; Dan. xi, 16, 41. The 
glory of all lands; Eze. xx, 6, 15. A good land 
and large, a land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 
iii, 8. A land which the Lord thy God careth for ; 
the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it ; 
Deut. xi, 12. The holy land ; Zee. ii, 12. The 
The land of the promise (tes epaggelias) ; Heb. xi, 
9. By its central situation it is admirably adapted 
to be the royal seat of a world-wide kingdom, be- 
ing, as it were, the bridge and ligament of three 
continents. It extends from the Euphrates on the 
East to the river of Egypt and the Mediterranean 
Sea on the West ; an area of about 300,000 square 
miles. — Gen. xv, 18. I have counted thirteen 
states of the American Union whose aggregate area 
do not amount to this. But, as already shown, the 
promise of that land involves the promise of all 



* Justin Martyr, born about A.D. 114, says, " There shall 
be a future possession of all the saints in this same land. 
And hence all men everywhere, whether bond or free, who 
believe in Christ, and recognize the truth in His own words 
and those of his prophets, know that they shall be with 
Him in that land, and inherit incorruptible and everlasting 
good." — In Dialogue with Trypho, eh. exxxix, Edition of 
Clark, Edinburgh, 1870. 



68 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS; 

lands, for the triumphant kingdom which Christ 
will establish there shall extend " to the ends of the 
earth" — Zee. ix, 10. Hence the Father promises 
to give the Son the uttermost parts of the earth for 
His possession ; and the Son promises to make the 
righteous heirs with himself, saying, " Blessed are 
the meek for they shall inherit the earth." — Psa. ii, 
8. Mat. v, 5. 

3. How long will they hold it? " Forever." 
-—Gen. xiii, 15.* " For an everlasting possession." 
It will be their " eternal inheritance." — Gen. xvii, 
8 : lleb. ix, 15. If the future life will be endless, 
the future possession of the laud must also be, for 
it is the same word, "everlasting," that describes 
them both. Even in the present existence a man 
can legally hold his estate so long as his life en- 
dures; and that the future life of the righteous 
will be of endless duration is proved not merely In- 
such words as forever, everlasting and eternal, but 
such expressions as, " they CANNOT die any more;" 
they shall "not perish;" "this mortal shall put on 
immortality, and this corruptible shall put on 



* " They are not to be heard, which feign that the old 
Fathers did look only for transitory promises." — Episcopal 
Creed, Art. vii. 

"When we consider that the promises to Abraham have 
their full completion in Christ, to whom are gi ven the utter- 
most parts of the earth for a possession, there need be no 
limit to the sense of the words for ever:'' — Commentary by 
Bishops and other Clergy of the church of England. 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 69 

incorruptibility ." — Lu. xx, 36: Jno. iii, 16: 1 Cor. 
xv, 53. In the very nature of things the promi- 
se of everlasting possession implies the promise of 
everlasting life, because as soon as a man dies he 
ceases to possess his property. And this is the 
reason why the law could not give that inheritance 
— because it could not give that life which is its 
indispensable adjunct or correlative. And it could 
not give that life because it could not give right- 
eousness which is the condition that qualifies one 
for everlasting life.' — So Paul argues in Gal. iii, 18, 
21. Here there is a most important problem to be 
solved. We are all sinners by nature and there- 
fore under the direct tendency to that death which 
is " the wages of sin." — Rom. vi, 23. By what 
means then can we obtain that righteousness 
without which we must come short of the everlast- 
ing life and the everlasting inheritance also? Can 
the law of Moses give us that righteousness ? No, 
"for if righteousness come by the law then Christ 
died (apethanen, past tense,) in vain" — Gal. ii, 21. 
Ah ! now the light breaks through the gloom ; 
now the difficulty is solved ; — " What the law 
could not do, in that it was weak through the 
flesh/' was accomplished by the pure and spotless 
Redeemer who " died for our sins" that " by 
means of" His death all who are called may re- 
ceive the promise of the eternal inheritance. — 1 
Cor. xv, 3: Heb. ix, 15. In this way He "con- 
firmed the promises," for but for the atoning merits 



70 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS: 

of His death we see not how any one could ever 
have been made worthy to realize them. 

4. The certainty of the promises. The fact that 
they are the word of the Lord is proof enough of 
their certainty, but several times it has pleased the 
Lord to give His word and then confirm it with a 
solemn oath, thus giving us " two immutable " 
pledges. " The Lord that swore unto me, saying, 
Unto thy Seed will I give this land." — Gen. xxiv, 
7. " I will perform the oath which I sware unto 
Abraham thy father." — Gen. xxvi, 3. " I did 
swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac and to Ja- 
cob." — Ex. vi, 8. "Thou wilt perform the truth 
to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which thou 
hath sworn unto our fathers from the days of 
old." — Mic. vii, 20. Paul in speaking of the 
promises to Abraham says in the next verse, "The 
covenant that was confirmed before of God in 
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thir- 
ty years after cannot disannul, that it should make 
the promise of more effect." —Gal. iii, 17. Here we 
find that the covenant was "confirmed in Christ," 
and that the law has never disannulled it. We 
know by the date also, that he refers to the 
Abrahamic covenant, for commencing at Sinai, 
when the law was given, and measuring backwards 
four hundred and thirty years brings us to no 
other period in the world's history but the season 
when those promises were being made to the fa- 
thers. And since those promises were not antiqua- 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 71 

ted or set aside by the law, and since the office of 
Christ himself is to " confirm " them, they must 
remain in full force to this day, or, as Adam Clarke 
(on Rom. iv) has truly said,' " It is the Abrahamic 
covenant in which we now stand." That is " an 
everlasting covenant," and one of which the Scrip- 
ture says, " Be ye always mindful." — 1 Chron. 
xvi, 17. 

5. How may individuals obtain a personal in- 
terest in those promises? or, in other words, by 
what process can they obtain that eternal inheri- 
tance and all the ceaseless joys connected with it? 
This, the most important question of the five, has, 
perhaps, the easiest and plainest answer. Paul 
describes the process when he says to some who 
had submitted to it, " Ye are all the children of 
God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you 
as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
Christ. . . . And if ye be Christ's then are ye 
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the prom- 
ise. . . . Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." 
Gai. iii, 26, 27, 29 : Rom. viiij 17. Here are 
two essential conditions to be complied with before 
you can become heirs of the promises made to 
Abraham and his seed. They are, first, "faith 
in Christ Jesus," by which expression Paul, of 
course, means exactly the same as when he told the 
jailor to " believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." — 
Ac. xvi, 31. And, as I have shown in a former 
discourse, no one truly believes on the Lord Jesus, 



72 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS J 

or has "faith in Christ Jesus," if he refuses to be- 
lieve the doctrine, message, or testimony which 
Christ Jesus preached ; for " He that hath received 
His testimony hath set to his seal that God is 
true " ; but on the other hand, " He that believeth 
not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God 
abideth on him." — John iii, 33, 36. Now the 
doctrine, message, or testimony which the Son 
preached was " the gospel of the kingdom of God " 
(Mark i, 14), and he who truly and affectionately 
believes that gospel of the kingdom, and sincerely 
desires to lead a Christian life, is ready to comply 
with the second condition, which is being " bap- 
tized into Christ." In duly complying with 
both of those conditions he is enrolled among the 
" children of God," and becomes " a new creature 
in Christ Jesus," able to rejoice in the glorious 
hope of realizing, at the second Advent, his por- 
tion in those ''exceeding great and precious prom- 
ises " made unto the fathers. — 2 Pet. i, 4. 

To recapitulate : — I have now shown, 1st, That, 
when the Lord Jesus comes in heavenly glory to 
establish His kingdom, the land of Canaan and 
the whole earth besides will be given to Him and 
the redeemed "for an everlasting possession ;" 2nd, 
That this promise of everlasting possessio7i involves 
and carries along with it the additional promise of 
everlasting life; and that the death of Christ for 
our sins was necessary in order to confirm these 
promises and make their attainment possible; 3rd 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 73 

That a belief of the gospel of the^ kingdom, and 
baptism into Christ, followed by holiness of life, 
are the conditions on which an individual^may 
obtain an inheritance in the promises made unto 
the fathers. 

O then, if you value your own eternal welfare, 
hasten at once to comply with those terms and 
conditions. The yoke is easy, the burden light, 
and the reward surpasses human thought. Come 
to the Saviour in believing on him and submitting 
to His appointed ordinance. "Arise and be bap- 
tized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name 
of the Lord." — Ac. xxii, 16. This is a delightful 
and easy task; not like what was required of 
Abraham. The command laid upon him was, 
"Abraham, take now thy son, thine only son 
Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the 
land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt- 
offering upon one of the mountains which I will 
tell thee of." As Abraham revolved this com- 
mand in his mind, every clause of it must have 
pierced like a dagger to his heart. But he did not 
falter nor seek to change the command and make 
an offering from his flocks and herds instead. 
Rising early in the morning he starts on the jour- 
ney without even telling Sarah of his intentions 
with regard to the darling of both their hearts. 
At the prospect of Isaac's birth she had laughed, 
but she might weep now at the prospect of his 
death, and so either break her husband's heart or 
4 



74 THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS ; 

make him waver in the path of duty. Therefore 
he " consulted not with flesh and blood." God's 
call is" to you ; do not wait for souie one else, but 
come alone; you have to die alone. And now 
think of Abraham's feelings on that sad journey. 
Perhaps he said to himself, u O! Isaac, my son 
Isaac, would to God that I could die for thee ! " 
But still he goes forward. And now as they near 
the fatal spot he lays on Isaac's shoulders the wood 
on which the offering was first to be slain and then 
consumed in the fire. Does not this typify that 
divine Son, the only begotten and dearly beloved, 
on whose shoulders was laid the very cross on 
which He was to die ? And now comes a thrill- 
ing scene, a trying moment. The unresisting 
Isaac is placed on the altar, and Abraham looks 
up to heaven with a countenance beaming with 
angelic faith, and then he raises the great glitter- 
ing blade and is about to plunge it into the heart 
of his son, when — hark ! a voice rings through the 
skies, " Abraham ! Abraham ! lay not thine hand 
upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him." 
And then I can imagine that for the first time in 
the whole trial his pent-up emotions, too deep for 
weeping, now'find relief in a flood of tears. And 
looking around he beheld a ram caught in a 
thicket and offered him up as a substitute for 
Isaac. But there was no substitute for the Son of 
God. He endured the great agony himself that 
we might live. How can you refuse to accept the 



OR, THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. (0 

blood-bought blessings which redeeming love has 
provided for yon ? 

Do you fear that you will not be accepted if you 
come to the Saviour? He says "Come unto me 
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest." — Matthew xi, 28. "There is joy 
among the angels of God over one sinner that re- 
penteth." Yes, 

Pleased with the news, the saints below 

In songs their tongues employ : 
Beyond the skies the tidings go, 

And heaven is filled with joy. 

Suppose a little child wanders from home and 
is lost in the woods where wild beasts are roam- 
ing. Presently the mother and father miss him, 
and, wringing their hands and weeping, they rush 
from one neighbor to another, crying out, " Oh ! 
my child is lost ! my child is lost ! " A general 
alarm is sounded. Men start out in every direc- 
tion, some on horses, some afoot. They scatter 
through the woods and fields in search of the lost 
one, and at last the almost distracted mother and 
father, straining their eyes, catch a glad signal of 
waving handkerchiefs from some distant hill-top 
that their child is found and safe, and they are 
coming home with him. Can any words describe 
the joy with which those loving parents welcome 
their child back to his home ? Neither can words 
describe the joy felt " over one sinner that re- 
penteth." 



76 

FOURTH DISCOURSE. 



THE SURE MERCIES; OR, THE COVENANT 
WITH DAVID. 

" Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had 
sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, 
according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on 
his throne ; he seeing this before spake Of the resurrection 
of Christ."— Ac. II, 30, 31. 

The great plan of redemption has been gradually 
unfolded to man. Commencing in Genesis with a 
few comprehensive sentences it is progressively ex- 
panded, as to details, until it shines forth in the 
apostolic writings as the fully revealed " Gospel of 
the kingdom." Thus the covenant with David 
gives a deeper insight into many things that had" 
been mentioned before, especially into that clause of 
the Abrahamic covenant that speaks of Christ as 
a great conqueror that "shall possess the gate of 
His enemies." Of the prominence and importance 
of this covenant we have sufficient proof in the 
fact that it is made a part of the gospel as proclaim- 
ed by Peter in the great Pentecostal sermon. I 
once met a person who had thought nothing was 
said of the kingdom in that sermon, but confessed ' 
being mistaken after attention was called to what 
it says of David's throne. " The gospel of the 
kingdom " which Peter was commanded to preach 
is composed of those truths which the Bible reveals 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 77 

concerning that kingdom. How then could Peter 
or any one else preach the gospel of the kingdom 
with those truths left outf That would be as im- 
possible as to possess the whole of any object 
without possessing the ingredients or parts of which 
it is composed ; or to have a landscape with the 
land left out. 

We have here but a short memorandum of the 
principal heads of Peter's discourse, for we are told 
that he used " many other words/' which are not 
recorded. — Ac. ii, 40. The covenant with David 
however, being too important a point to be left 
out, was recorded as a portion of Scripture which 
" is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, for instruction in righteousness." — 2*Tim. iii, 
16. The few but solemn words^here recorded 
about that covenant open the door to all that the 
Bible says concerning the kingdom of God. Surely 
the seating of Christ on David's throne must be a 
matter of profound importance to us all, inasmuch 
as the Lord hath " sworn with an oath " that it 
shall be done. To find that oath I turn to 2 Sam. 
vii, as the marginal reference in my Bible invites 
me to do. There we find the solemn covenant in 
these words, " When thy days be fulfilled, and thou 
shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy Seed 
after thee which shall proceedjout of thy bowels, 
and I will establish His^kingdom. He shall build 
an house for my name, and I will establish the 
throne of His kingdom forever. I will be His 



78 THE SURE mercies; or 

Father, and He shall be my Son. If He commit 
iniquity, I wil] chasten Him with the rod of men. 
and with the stripes of the children of men : but 
my mercy shall not depart away from Him as I 
took it away from Saul whom I put away before 
thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be 
established forever before thee: thy throne 
shall be established forever." 

Solomon means peaceable, but that prince in all 
his glory was but a faint type of the true Prince 
of peace to whom this covenant points. David in 
his "last words" referred to this covenant and 
gave a description of the mighty Ruler to whom 
it points — a Ruler who had not then appeared in 
his family ; for none but Christ can answer to these 
descriptions. is He that ruleth over men must be 
just (Christ is ' the Just One/ Ac. iii, 14), ruling in 
the fear of God (Christ is ' of quick understanding 
in the fear of the Lord/ Isa. xi, 3). And he 
shall be as the light of the morning when the sun 
riseth (Christ is 'the true light ? — 'the light of the 
world ' — * the sun of righteousness/ Jno. i, 9 ; 
viii, 12; Mai. iv, 2), even as a morning without 
clouds. Although my house be not so with God, 
yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, 
ordered in all things and sure : for this is all my 
salvation and all my desire." — 2 Sam. xxiii, 
5: Thus he comforted himself " waiting for the 
kingdom of God." In another place he speaks of 
the covenant in almost the very words of Peter, 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 79 

" The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David ; He 
will not turn from it ; of the fruit of thy body 
will I set upon thy throne." — Psa. cxxxii, 11. 
Words from this covenant are applied to Christ in, 
Heb. i, 5, as being too high even for angels ; of 
course then they are too high to be restricted to 
Solomon. As Matthew Henry says, "The establish- 
ing of his house, and his throne and his kingdom 
forever, and again and a third time forever, can be 
applied to no other than Christ and his kingdom." 
It does not say, " He will commit," but " If he 
commit iniquity," &c. Adam Clarke translates 
the clause, " Even in suffering for iniquity I will 
chasten Him with the rod of men and with the 
stripes due to the children of Adam ;" and refers 
to Isa. liii, 4, 5. The " house " that He builds 
will be " a spiritual house " (1 Pet. ii, 5), infinitely 
superior to the temple made with hands, that Sol- 
omon built. House, both in ancient and modern 
usage frequently means a family, as, " come thou 
and all thy house into the ark." — Gen. vii, 1. 
" We are His house if we hold fast the confidence 
and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." — 
Heb. iii, 6. The materials are now being selected 
and polished into shape by the power of the gospel 
of the kingdom acting on the minds and hearts 
and lives of those who believe it. The building 
is not yet completed, for the Scripture does not say, 
" It has grown unto an holy temple," but the process 
is still going on as indicated by the present tense 



80 THE SURE MERCIES ; OR 

progressive — " groweth unto an holy temple." — 
Kphes. ii, 21 : iv, 16 It will not be completed 
until Christ comes. And indeed prophecy indi- 
cates that He will then even cause a literal temple 
to be built for the millennial age. — Ezekiel XL 

to XLIII. 

Jggg"* That Christ is to possess and reign on the 
throne of David is a truth affirmed in Scripture 
too plainly to admit of any doubt. "H^ The 
Pentecostal sermon a! one proves this; but in ad- 
dition to that are such testimonies as the following: 
" I have made a covenant with my chosen ; I have 
sworn unto David, my servant, Thy seed will I 
establish forever, and build up thy throne to all 
generations. . . . Once have I sworn by my holi- 
ness, that I will not lie unto David. His seed 
shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun 
before me."— Psa. lxxxix, 3, 4, 34-36. " Of this 
man's (David's) seed hath God, according to His 
promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus." — 
Ac. xiii, 23. "The Lord God shall give unto 
Him the throne of His father David." — Lu. i, 
32, 33. " Of the increase of His government and 
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of 
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to 
establish it with judgment and with justice ii'om 
henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of 
Hosts will perform this." — Isa. ix, 7. 

Now inasmuch as David has "not ascended 
into the heavens " (Ac. ii, 34), we know that he 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 81 

has never reigned there; but it is an historical 
truth that lie has reigned " in Jerusalem" and a 
prophetical truth that Christ will hereafter reign 
" iif Jerusalem." You admit the historical part 
to mean the literal Jerusalem on earth ; why not 
admit the prophetical part to mean the same? — 
1 Chron. xxix, 27 : Isa. xxiv, 23. If the Czar of 
Russia were to say to the young Napoleon, "I will 
give unto thee the throne of thy father, Napoleon 
III, but come thou up to St. Petersburg and so- 
journ in my palace until the time comes for the 
fulfillment of the promise" ; people would clearly 
understand him as meaning that, some of these 
days, the young Napoleon would be personally 
enthroned in Paris, and reign over the French 
nation and all its colonies. And does not the 
divine promise that Christ shall be seated on "the 
throne of His father David " as clearly imply that 
He must return and be personally enthroned in 
Jerusalem and reign over the Jewish nation, and 
over all nations and lands throughout the world ? 
Thousands of people would believe the Czar, 
although they would have no stronger reason than 
the word of a fallible man for their belief. Now, 
"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of 
God is greater." — 1 John v, 9. The miraculous 
and literal birth of Christ in Bethlehem, following 
the prediction by Gabriel of His reign on David's 
throne, is a sufficient pledge of His literal and 
miraculous reign in Jerusalem. It is as easy for 



82 THE SURE MERCIES | OR 

the Lord to give a perfectly literal fulfillment to 
the one as to the other prophecy. When Herod 
in perplexity enquired of the chief priests and 
scribes where Christ should he born, they gave hjm 
a faithful answ< r : — *' In Bethlehem of Judca, for 
thus it is written by the prophet/' — Mat. ii, 5. 
They did not reply in the mystifying, evasive and 
skeptical style of certain modern teachers, " It is 
contrary to our ideas of the fitness of things to 
say that He who is to be called ' The Mighty God ' 
(Isa. ix, 6, 7) can ever be literally born in any 
literal city on this earth. That seems incongruous. 
Micah indeed says He will be horn in Bethlehem, 
but we cannot suppose he means the literal Beth- 
lehem, about six miles from here, on this very 
earth, for none but 'an alarmist' could think 
such a thing. Our exegesis, which is l abreast of 
the times/ has led us to discard the expectation of 
His birth in a material city, and to conclude that 
the prophet means no more than a figurative Beth- 
lehem, whatever that might be; perhaps a city 
' beyond the bounds of time and space.' But, in 
fact, we have never given much attention to the 
question of ' Where shall He be born ? ' For 
what difference can it make whether it shall be in 
Bethlehem, or Athens, or even above the skies ? 
We do not think we ought to be expected to give 
any definite answer to the question of your Royal 
Highness." It is a notorious fact that the proph- 
ecies concerning Messiah's reign on earth are 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 83 

treated very much in this way by some who ought 
to know better. 

Listen to a few more testimonies concerning Zion 
and Jerusalem. " Out of Zion shall go forth the 
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." 
Isa. ii, 3, 4. " At that time they shall call Jeru- 
salem the throne of the Lord ; and all the na- 
tions shall be gathered unto it." — Jer. iii, 17. 
This does not refer to the Mosaic dispensation, for 
then only the Jewish nation was required to gather 
there for worship. Nor to the present dispensa- 
tion, for not even christians are required to go 
thither now. It must therefore refer to the future 
or millennial dispensation, after the second Ad- 
vent. Compare Zee. xiv, 4, 5, 16, 17. " And the 
name of the city from that day shall be The Lord 
is there." — Eze. xlviii, 35. " So shall ye know 
that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion my 
holy mountain ; then shall Jerusalem be holy, 
there shall no strangers pass trough her any more." 
Joel iii, 17. The present overturned condition of 
the throne of David and city of Jerusalem was in 
literal fulfillment of prophecy, as also their future 
restoration will be. When Zedekiah, a " profane 
and wicked prince," reigned on that throne in Je- 
rusalem the Lord sent this word to him, " I will 
overturn, overturn, overturn it ; and it shall be no 
more, until He come whose right it is ; and I will 
give it Him." — Eze. xxi, 27. Accordingly, soon 
after that, the throne of David was overturned, 



84 THE sure mercies; or 

about four hundred and twenty-eight years after 
Solomon began to reign. And so the Scripture 
says, " Thou hast made his glory to cease, and 
cast his throne down to the ground." — Psa. 
Ixxxix, 44. And as to the city and its people, the 
Saviour predicted before He suffered, " They shall 
fall by the edge of tho sword, and shall be led 
away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall 
be trodden down of the Gentiles (strangers passing 
through her, Joel iii, 17), until the times of the 
Gentiles be fulfilled."— Lu. xxi, 24. But it will 
not remain trodden down, for there shall be a 
" New Jerusalem . . . and the throne of God and 
of the Lamb shall be in it " as truly as the throne 
of David was in the old Jerusalem. The heathen 
who saw the destruction of the old Jerusalem by 
the Romans perhaps thought they saw the last of 
that city, as when they burned the martyrs they 
thought they saw the last of them. And no doubt 
many of its captive citizens, led away and sold in 
foreign lands, "wept when they remembered Zion." 
She had rejected her Lord, and the glory had de- 
parted. And haughty, corrupt Rome, seated on 
seven hills and insulting the skies with smoke of 
idol altars, appeared to have nearly the whole 
world under her sway. But it is Jerusalem^ not 
Rome, Ninevah, Washington or London, that the 
Lord has " graven on the palms of His hands." — 
Isa. xlix, 16. And John who had walked in the 
streets of the old city, and lived to know of her 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 85 

destruction, was comforted by a prophetic and rap- 
turous view of the new Jerusalem, having the glory 
of God, and into which no Judas, nor Pilate, nor 
Herod, nor Caiaphas can enter, but only " they 
which are written in the Lamb's book of life." — 
Rev. xxi, 2, 11, 27 ; xxii, 3. Two great pro- 
phetic periods are limited by the word " until," 
and will end together. They are, 1st, The per- 
sonal absence of Christ in heaven " until the 
times of restitution" or restoration. 2nd, The 
down-treading of Jerusalem " until the times of 
the Gentiles be fulfilled." They will end when 
the Lord Jesus shall personally "return and build 
again the tabernacle of David that is fallen down." 
" When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall 
appear in His glory." — Ac. xv, 16; Psa. cii, 16. 

The Saviour is now seated on His Father's 
throne, but while there speaks of another — His 
own — on which he will take His seat when He 
returns to the earth. We learn this from His two 
sayings, " To him that overcometh will I grant to 
sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame 
and am set down with my Father on His throne." 
Eev. iii, 21 ; and " When the Son of man shall come 
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, 
then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory," or 
"His throne of glory," as the American Bible 
Union renders it ; or " His glorious throne," — 
Campbell's edition. The fact that He comes to 
take His seat on it proves that His throne will be 



86 THE sure mercies; or 

on earth ; for if it were in heaven His coming here 
would be leaving it instead of coming to it. 

Those words of the covenant, " Thy kingdom 
shall be established forever before thee" are ex- 
plained by the similar promise that " The Lord of 
hosts shall reign in mount Zion and in Jerusalem, 
and before His ancients gloriously." — Tsa. xxiii, 
24. In the Greek it is the same word, enopion, 
in both places, and means " in the presence of," it 
being so rendered in many places, as for instance, 
" I am Gabriel that stand (enopion) in the pres- 
ence of God." — Lu. 1, 19. "Many other signs 
truly did Jesus (enopion) in the presence of Hi.s 
disciples." — Jno. xx, 30. Hence the promise to 
David meant the privilege of being " ever with the 
Lord" in His "everlasting kingdom." — 2 Pet. i, 
11. And this justifies David's remarkable saying 
that the covenant was " all of his salvation and all 
of his desire." — 2 Sam. xxiii, 5. The eternal 
blessings involved in that promise are " the sure 
mercies of David." But these mercies are not for 
David exclusively, for the promise to all believers is 
" I will give to you the sure mercies of David." — 
Ac. xiii, 34. The pronoun "you " (Greek, humin) 
is plural here, as usual in King James' version the 
singular being thee or thou, and means that all 
believers are joint- heirs with Christ of the roy- 
alty promised in this covenant, as they are of the 
inheritance promised in the Abrahamic covenant. 
The following are some of the testimonies con- 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 87 

cerning the future royal honors of the redeemed : 
"To him that overcoraeth will I grant to sit with 
me in my throne." — Rev. iii, 21, " If we suffer, 
we shall also reign with him." — 2 Tim. ii, 12. 
" Then shall the King say unto them on His right 
hand, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom." — Mat. xxv, 34. " A King shall reign 
in righteousness and princes shall rule in judg- 
ment." — Isa. xxxii, 1. "It is your Father's good 
pleasure to give to you the kingdom." — Lu. xii, 
32. " The kingdom and dominion, and the great- 
ness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall 
be given to the people of the saints of the Most 
High." — Dan. vii, 27. "They lived and reigned 
with Christ a thousand years." — Rev. xx, 4. 
" Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed to God by 
thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and 
people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our 
God kings and priests ; and we shall reign on the 
earth." — Rev. v, 10. It is not we did or do reign, 
but l< we shall reign " — it is future. That future 
relationship which Christ will sustain to the 
church is represented under the beautiful simili- 
tude of a royal Bridegroom and His Bride, en- 
dowed by Him with queenly honors, and seated 
with Him on His throne,' 7 — Psa. xlv; Mat. xxv, 
10 ; Rev. xix, 7 ; xxi, 2, 9. 

But the Lord Jesus did not obtain the throne of 
David and reign in Jerusalem at His first coming. 
The wicked persons then usurping authority in that 



OO THE SURE MERCIES; OR 

city rejected Him ; as indicated by such expressions 
as, " We will not have this man to reign over us. 
. . . This is the heir, come let us kill him. . . . 
We have no king but Csesar." — Mat. xxi,38: Lu. 
xix, 14; Jno. xix, 15. And so, after they had 
crucified Him, He arose from the dead and as- 
cended into heaven, without obtaining possession 
either of the covenanted land, or of the covenan- 
ted throne. But He holds the title-deeds to both, 
and His claims are just as good and fresh to-day 
as they ever were. The enmity and wrath of man 
cannot possibly defeat the immutable decrees of 
Him who maketh the wrath of man praise Him, 
and restraineth the remainder of wrath. The 
church is therefore not to lose faith in the promi- 
ses. Her Lord has left her with the blessed and 
comforting assurance of His literal and personal 
return — " this same Jesus which is taken up from 
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner" — 
Ac. i, 11. "The Lord himself shall descend 
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and the trump of God ; and the dead 
in Christ shall rise." — 1 Thes. iv, 16. We see 
then that He has never relinquished His claims 
but will certainly enforce them all at His return ; 
for He himself has assured us that " when the Son 
of man shall COME in His glory, and all the 
holy angels with Him, THEN shall He sit upon 
the throne of His glory." — Mat. xxv, 31. Then, 
with the land of Canaan as a nucleus and Jerusa. 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 89 

lera as a capital, His dominion shall by miracu- 
lous judgments break in pieces all other kingdoms, 
and extend " from sea even to sea ; and from the 
river to the ends of the earth." — Dan. ii, 35, 44 : 
Zee. ix, 10. For the king then seated on the 
" holy hill of Zion " shall have, not Canaan only, 
but " the uttermost parts of the earth for His pos- 
session." — Psa. ii, 6, 8. 

The two " covenants of promise " — one with 
Abraham and the other with David — centre in 
Christ the great Heir. I have now explained 
those covenants to you, and have shown that all 
christians have a direct and personal interest in both 
of them. But what was their condition before ob- 
taining that interest ? Let Paul answer, — " At 
that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from 
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from 
the covenants of promise, having no hope, and 
without God in the world." — Ephes. ii, 12. There 
are two ways of being a stranger from a will or 
covenant: — 1st, As to information concerning it. 
Such a person knows neither what benefits are of- 
fered in it, nor the terms on which they are offered. 
Persons of accountability (i. e. ability to give ac- 
count) who are in this condition with regard to the 
" covenants of promise " are in danger of being 
" destroyed for lack of knowledge ; " being " aliena- 
ted from the life of God through the ignorance 
that is in them." — Hos. iv, 6: Ephes. iv, 18. 
But, 2nd, a man may be well acquainted with the 



90 THE sure mercies; or 

reading of a will or covenant without having one 
particle of personal interest or share in it, merely 
on account of not having complied with its terms. 
His name not being in the document, he is, as far 
as personal interest is concerned, still an alien and 
stranger to it ; and has no right to expect any ben- 
efit from it. And so with regard to the covenants 
of promise ; you may understand and believe them 
and yet remain a stranger from them simply by 
refusing to comply with the specified terms or con- 
ditions on which one is made an heir. In other 
words, you may believe the glorious gospel of the 
kingdom — of which those covenants form the main 
outlines — and yet if you refuse to be baptized for 
the remission of sins, and to have your name en- 
rolled in the Lamb's book of life you still remain 
an alien and a' stranger from the covenants, " hav- 
ing no hope." 

You must admit the first and second proposi- 
tions of the following plain syllogism, and admit- 
ting them to be true, you must admit the third as 
a necessary consequence — 1 : You cannot be saved 
if you refuse to believe that gospel which Christ 
and His apostles preached. 2 : They preached the 
gospel of the kingdom. 3 : Therefore you cannot 
be saved if you refuse to believe the gospel of the 
kingdom. Must we then believe that so many be- 
nevolent people and so many eloquent preachers 
will have to believe the gospel of the kingdom 
and be baptized for the remission of sins before 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 91 

they can be saved ! Why not ? We ought to be 
perfectly willing to believe anything that God's 
word says to us. I suppose that none of those 
preachers are more " eloquent," or more " mighty 
in the Scriptures," or more " fervent in the spirit," 
or more " diligently " devoted to their work than 
Apollos : and yet even he needed to have " ex- 
pounded unto him the way of God more perfectly," 
by two humble believers of the gospel of the 
kingdom. — Ac. xviii, 24, 26. I suppose that none 
of those benevolent people excel Cornelius. He 
was " A devout man, and one that feared God with 
all his house, which gave much alms to the people, 
and prayed to God always. A just man, and of 
good report among all the nation of the Jews." 
And yet, notwithstanding all these excellencies, he 
" was warned from God," yes, " warned" to send 
for a preacher of the gospel of the kingdom, and 
to hear from him words whereby he might " be 
saved," and after hearing those words he had to 
" be baptized."— Ac. x, 1~ 2, 22, 48 : xi, 14. To 
the question, " What shall we do ? " Peter replied, 
" Repent and be baptized every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." — 
Ac. ii, 38. And here let me ask every candid per- 
son, If all the people now living on the earth, to- 
gether with all who have lived since the day of 
Pentecost had been there in Peter's presence that 
day, can you suppose that he would have altered 
his answer in the slightest particular for the sake of 



92 THE SURE mercies; or 

complying with their notions, partialities, or preju- 
dices ? Not in one jot or tittle would he have al- 
tered or compromised it, for it is the word which 
God commanded him to speak. 

It is a gospel repentance — a " repentance unto 
life" — which is here required.* — Ac. xi, 18. Such 
a repentance does not stop with merely being sorry 
for sins committed : nor even with forming a reso- 
lution to forsake them; but is an actual "ceasing 
to do evil and learning to do well." — Isa. i, 16, 17. 
Testimony on any subject must, of course, precede 
belief or faith in what is testified : that belief or 
faith must precede any feeling in correspondence 
with the truths testified : and that feeling must 
precede action in conformity to it. Testimony, faith, 
feeling, action are therefore seen to be bound to- 
gether by a natural and gracious necessity. And 
will not every Bible-student say that when a person 
hears the gospel of the kingdom, believes it, 
and feels and acts according to the truths which 
it contains and the duties which it enjoins, — such a 
person has "become a new creature in Christ Jesus," 



* Metanoeo (repent), " To perceive or come to a conviction 
afterwards ; to change one's mind or purpose ; to repent." 
Metanoia (repentance), "After-thought; a change of mind 
on reflection : hence repentance." — So these two words are 
defined in Lexicon of Liddell & Scott. " Repentance is 
strictly a change of mind, and includes the whole of that 
alteration with respect to views, disposition, and conduct, 
which is affected by the power of the gospel." — Edwards' 
Encyclopedia. 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 93 

and has undergone that change of heart and life 
which is an evidence of true conversion to God ? 

And now will you walk in this pathway ? Will 
you believe and feel and act as the gospel requires, 
and thus obtain an eternal inheritance in the king- 
dom at last ? Unless you obtain that inheritance 
you will not be saved. This is God's plan of sav- 
ing people. Rest assured then that if saved at all, 
you will be saved in that kingdom which He will 
establish on earth at the second coming of Christ. 
God has proved His pardoning love in giving His 
only begotten Son to die for you. No " mourner's 
bench," with agonizing prayer and weeping is now 
needed to secure His mercy. The mourning and 
agony were endured by the holy Saviour in the 
lonely vale of Gethsemane, and on the bloody steep 
of Calvary. u Surely He hath borne our griefs 
and carried our sorrows." — Isa. liii, 4. Have you 
faith in His tears, His prayers, and His intercession? 
if so come just as you are, with a heart filled with 
love to Jesus and faith in His word. " Him that 
cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." When 
the prodigal son "came to himself" he said "I 
will arise and go to my Father." These words — 
came to himself — show that sin is a madness ; the 
the sinner is out of his mind ! beside himself! It 
seems to me that if any sinner could have one lucid 
interval, one sweet, calm, hour of returning reason 
his eyes would be opened ; he would see his 
surroundings, and would flee from sin with more 



94 THE SURE mercies; or 

horror than from the deadliest plague or pestilence. 
Let me say to all who are walking in the bright 
and rosy path of the morning of life, 'twill save 
you from a thousand snares to mind religion young. 
" Remember now thy Creator, in the days of thy 
youth." — Eccl. xii, 1. Beware of that pernicious 
notion thatjyou ought to " sow your wild oats ;" 
it has been the destruction of thousands who have 
seen their error when it was too late ; and so, with 
habits of evil fixed upon them like leopard spots 
that could not be changed, they have sunk down 
into the sinner's grave — lost, lost, lost. You may 
be sure that Samuel and Timothy sowed no wild 
oats, for the latter from a child, knew the Ho'y 
Scriptures; and "Samuel ministered before the 
Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod." 
But the brightest and best instance of all was the 
holy Redeemer, who, in childhood as in later years, 
left an example for mankind. As early as twelve 
years of age He was found in the great Temple a* 
Jerusalem saying, " Wist ye not that I must be 
about my Father's business ?" 

Parents, if you have sons and daughters who 
believe the gospel of the kingdom, speak to them 
about the importance of coming now and dedicating 
their young lives to God " in a perpetual covenant 
that shall not be forgotten." You see their danger 
while they remain out of the ark of safety ; does 
it not distress you to know that the children of 
your love are the children of God's wrath? Do 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 95 

in »t encourage them in worldliness under the notion 
that in due time they will forsake such things and 
be all the better for the experience. This would 
be doing evil that good may come : a principle 
positively condemned by Scripture. Would you 
not think a physician utterly insane who would 
take a patient only a little ailing, and send him off 
to a " Pest House " among fevers and epidemics, 
to contract all its contagions before administering 
any remedy ? What if the fearful experiment be 
carried too far! and the patient die, instead of 
coming out of it all and enjoying better health 
than ever before ! How broad and comprehensive, 
yet how tender and eloquent is that exhortation to 

Christian parents concerning their children, 

" Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of 
the Lord." — Ephes. vi, 4. It does not teach you 
to bring them up wrong, hoping they will soon 
go right ; but to bring them up right, hoping they 
will never go wrong. 

There is no excuse for any one to remain out of 
the ark of safety. The door of salvation is open 
to you , whether old or young, rich or poor. What 
you have to do may be told in a few words, — be- 
lieve the joyful tidings that Christ is coming soon 
to establish His glorious and blissful kingdom on 
earth, and that through the merits of His precious 
blood you may obtain endless life and happiness in 
that kingdom "at the resurrection of the just." 
This, expressed as it were in a nutshell, is " the 



96 THE SURE MERCIES ; OR 

gospel of the kingdom." Believe this gospel, then 
be baptized for the remission of sins, thenceforth 
continue "faithful unto death;" and you will 
surely be saved when the Redeemer comes. No 
" mourners' bench " in all this arrangement. That 
bench and the process carried on at it are contrary 
to the free grace of the gospel. Some have gone 
away from such a bench under the desponding im- 
pression that religion was not for them, and so 
their last condition became worse than the first. 
When the prodigal son said, " I will arise and go 
to my father," did he have to fall down at the 
door and go through a rnourners'-bench process — 
weeping, screaming, and getting some of the old 
neighbors to come and link their petitions with 
his — in order to get his father reconciled? No; 
but " when he was yet a great way off, his father 
saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell 
on his neck, and kissed him, and said to his ser- 
vants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, 
and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet ; 
and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let 
us eat and be merry ; for this my son was dead and 
is alive again ; he was lost and is found." What 
a thrilling parable is this ! full of meat for men, 
and milk for babes. Plain enough for a child to 
understand it, and yet profoundly describing the 
depths of God's mercy ! How it would mar and 
jar the whole parable to pieces to crowd into it 
such an incongruous and unscriptural thing as a 



THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. 97 

modern mourner's bench ! Christ is the One Me- 
diator who has prepared the way for the sinner's 
return — "God was in Christ reconciling the 
world unto himself." — 2 Cor. v, 19. No one then 
ought to imagine himself rejected, but all ought to 
gladly accept the freely-offered salvation, as on 
the day of Pentecost " they gladly received the 
word." Pardon is not only freely offered to but 
warmly urged upon even the vilest of sinners, for 
when Peter was preaching to those who " by 
wicked hands had crucified and slain the Saviour," 
he "testified and exhorted" with many words, 
sayiug, " Save yourselves from this untoward 
generation." — Ac. ii, 23, 40. The word here trans- 
lated " exhort " (parakaleo) is a very strong one, 
and means, according to Greenfield's Lexicon, 
" To call upon, invite, exhort, admonish, persuade, 
Jbeg, beseech, entreat, implore." It is used to de- 
scribe the fervent entreaty of Jairus for his 
daughter, and is there translated " besought." — 
Lu. viii, 41. It is a duty enjoined upon those 
who preach the gospel — "reprove, rebuke, exhort/ 3 
parakaleo. — 2 Tim. iv, 2. And there is a suffi- 
cient cause for all this fervid exhortation ; your 
eternal welfare depends on your accepting the 
offered salvation. " How shall we escape if we 
neglect so great salvation ? " — Heb ii, 3. 

Sinner, how can you find any enjoyment or have 
one peaceful hour so long as your name is not in 
the Book of Life ? I wonder you are not startled 
5 



98 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

from sleep at the midnight hour with those fearful 
words ringing in your ears : — u Whosoever was not 
found written in the book of life was cast into the 
laJce of fire" — Rev. xx, 15. What a sweeping 
word is that whosoever ! There are two great 
whosoevers in the Bible — this, describing the 
coming doom of the wicked; and the other point- 
ing to the only door of escape ; — "God so loved 
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 
that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." — John Hi, 16. 
Will you now believe in Him, so that in the resur- 
rection you may obtain that life and all the bless- 
ings pertaining thereto? 



FIFTH DISCOURSE. 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. * 

"And for this cause He is the .Mediator of the New Test- 
ament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the 
transgressions that were under the first Testament, they 
which are called might receive the promise of the (tes) eter- 
nal inheritance." — Heb. ix, 15. 

Somewhere in the universe the righteous will 
obtain what the Scriptures call " An heavenly 
country" Heb. xi, 16; "An inheritance among 
them that are sanctified" Ac. xxvi, 18; "The in- 
heritance of the saints in light" Col. i, 12; " The 
land of the promise " Heb. xi, 9; " The eternal in- 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 99 

heritance." In the present state men soon die and 
leave their wealth to others. No human law can 
write such a deed to a piece of property as will 
secure its owner from death. The lea<e hardly 
goes beyond threescore years and ten. But that 
future inheritance will be "forever," "eternal." 
Psa. xxxvii, 18. Another precious thought is, it 
will be " in light." We quickly feel the depress- 
ing effects of a dark and murky atmosphere, or the 
animating influence of bright and balmy weather. 
"Truly the light is sweet" — Eoel. xi, 7. It is 
sometimes used as a symbol of joy. "Light is 
sown for the righteous, and gladness for the up- 
right in heart-" — Psa. xcvii, 11. Imagine if you 
can what a gloomy abode the earth would be were 
we deprived of the present measure of light which 
the Lord has commanded to shine upon it. (There 
will be a sevenfold increase of that light if Isa. 
xxx, 26, is to be taken literally.) A third feature 
serving to render that inheritance of inestimable 
value is that it will be "among them that are 
sanctified" It is well known what effect the 
neighbors have on the value of a piece of land. 
Men will pay a large price for a lot or farm in a 
good neighborhood, who would regard it a great 
calamity to have to reside on the same piece of land 
surrounded by bad neighbors. Well, in this 
respect the future inheritance will be all that heart 
can wish. The society will excel anything that 
the mind of mortal man can imagine. A fourth 



100 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE, 

very important and essential feature is that it will 
be a " country" a " land" a real and tangible 
abode for beings with tangible, immortal, and glo- 
rified bodies like their Lord. " The righteous 
shall inherit substance" — Prov. viii, 21. J cannot 
imagine how there could be tangible resurrected 
bodies without any tangible pedestal or terri- 
tory to rest upon. After creating Adam and 
Eve the Lord did not throw them off into space 
to float forever as mere atoms in the air, but gave 
them a beautiful and tangible territory to dwell 
upon. The resurrection of the Saviour proves 
that His redeemed will have tangible bodies, for 
they " shall be like Him," shall " bear His image/' 
and have their bodies " fashioned like unto His 
own glorious body." — 1 John iii, 2; 1 Cor. xv, 
49 ; Phil, iii, 21. That glorious fashion will never 
become old, but will have the stamp of immortality 
fixed upon it. Some giddy people have said, 
" Better be out of the world than out of the fash- 
ion " ; but they had indeed better be out of the 
world, yes, better never have come into the world 
than to be kept out of that fashion when the 
Saviour comes. 

I have met persons who cry out again.st "ma- 
teriality," when at the same time they are utterly 
unable to tell us either where materiality ends, or 
where their favorite "immateriality " begins. In 
denying the tangibility of the future existence they 
have denied the tangible resurrection of the body, 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 101 

and thus have lost themselves in the cold, murky 
and shoreless ocean of speculation. But " the 
disciple whom Jesus loved " was not of that school, 
for he has described to us a Saviour whom hi* 
" hands had handled," and they did even " eat 
and drink with Him after He rose from the dead." 
1 John i, 1 : Ac. x, 41. The Saviour had foretold 
that he would be crucified and raised again the third 
day, and had even given visible evidence of the 
resurrection of the body, in raising the ruler's 
daughter, the widow's son, and Lazarus. But still 
Thomas doubted the real and tangible resurrection 
of his Lord. Perhaps he was tainted with some- 
thing like the modern mysticism, and insisted on 
a figurative interpretation. Before he could be- 
lieve in the literal fulfillment of the Saviour's 
prophecy he must "see in His hands the print of 
the nails, and put his finger into the print of the 
nails, and thrust his hand into His side." Well, 
whatever false theory had beclouded the mind of 
Thomas, his conversion was thorough. When per- 
mitted to see for himself he did not cry out, " This 
is too literal, this is too material ; I'll have nothing 
to do with it." No; but from the depths of his 
heart he says, "My Lord and my God." In his 
estimation, the Saviour's tangibility did not lessen 
His divinity. — John xx, 25-28. 

In the resurrected and " spiritual body " there 
will be infinitely more reality than in this " mortal 
body " which " appeareth for a little time and then 



102 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

vanisheth away." — Jas. iv, 14. We may conjecture 
that the perishable blood, which is the life of the 
present flesh (Deut. xii, 23), will be superceded by 
the imperishable Spirit in the future constitution ; 
so that the body will then be u flesh and bones," 
but not " flesh and blood." This will make the 
glory and beauty of the spiritual body infinitely 
excel that of the mortal body. According to 
Chemistry, carbon is the basis of charcoal, and the 
Diamond is pure carbon, or charcoal changed, 
crystalized, glorified. So the spiritual body will 
be the present humble body "changed," immortal- 
ized, glorified. I have read of a Jacinth no larger 
than a pea, but which is said to flash and glow 
with a lustre that seems to indicate the presence of 
fire and flame. Even the sun and stars are used 
to illustrate the future glory of the redeemed. — 
Dan. xii, 3 : Mat. xiii, 43. So we may well believe 
that the resurrection body will be stronger than the 
Diamond, more beautiful than the Jacinth, and 
bright as the stars or sun ; yet without blood. 
As already intimated, a great community of such 
beings must have a tangible abode; something 
must be some where. On a clear night you can 
see a great many stars in the sky ; with a telescope 
you could see more; and with perfect vision perhaps 
the whole sky would seem one silvery surface of 
star-work, without a single blue interspace. But 
could you point to a single spot in that star-work 
and say, on Scriptural authority, " That shall be 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 103 

forever the saints' secure abode ?" Let us then 
consider where will the inheritance be? when will 
it be obtained ? and by what means. 

1. Where will the inheritance be ? This and 
the other two questions are explained under the 
similitude of a Testament or covenant promising 
a certain inheritance to certain heirs. The fact 
that the word translated "testament," (diatheke), 
means also a " covenant " produces no obscurity in 
the text but rather brings out the meaning more 
clearly ; because the testament or will referred to 
contains within itself the nature of a covenant also, 
inasmuch as although it is brought into force by a 
death (like a will), yet its bequests are to be given 
to the heirs on conditions which (as in a covenant), 
must be agreed to and complied with by them. And 
now to find the inheritance for which we are look- 
ing we must first find the testament or covenant in 
which it is described. Paul mentions two testa- 
ments — the Abrahamic and Mosaic. The latter 
he calls " the first testament " because though the 
last made it was the first that was brought into 
force. — Heb. ix, 18. He also calls it "the old 
testament" because in his time it had become old 
and " ready to vanish away." — 2 Cor. iii, 14; Heb. 
viii, 13. It is only in a loose or metonymic way 
that we speak of all the books from Genesis to 
Malachi as " The Old Testament." That volume 
contains "The Old Testament" i. e. it contains 
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, in 



104 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

which the old testament or Mosaic covenant was 
written. It also contains the " prophets," to whom 
we are still commanded to "take heed/' (2 Pet. i, 
10); but we are forbioden to put ourselves under 
the Mosaic law. We mu>t therefore distinguish 
b tween "the law and the prophets." Now if we 
search the Mosaic testament with all eagerness we 
shall never find our eternal inheritance there. That 
testament has indeed shown us a nation settled upon 
e land; but at the same time it warned them that they 
were but " strangers and sojourners " i. e. temporary 
residents upon it. — L v. xxv, 23. Accordingly, as 
their history proves, they " possessed it but a little 
while." — Isa. lxiii, 18. An eternal inheritance 
requires eternal life as a qualification for it. But 
the Mosaic testament could not give that eternal 
life because it could not give righteousness, of which 
that life is the reward ; hence the eternal inheritance 
came not by the law of Moses. In this argument 
Paul clearly affirms that none but the righteous 
can obtain eternal life, and none but those who 
have eternal life can obtain the eternal inheritance. 
"As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth 
evil pursueth it to his own death'" — Pro v. xi, 19. 
■ £ The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is 
eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ." — Rom. 
vi, 23; Gal. iii, 21; ii, 21. 

Having shown that the Mosaic testament or cov- 
enant did not give an eternal inheritance, let us 
now turn to the Abrahamic testament or covenant. 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 105 

This is called "the new testament" as distinguished 
from the Mosaic, because it is "everlasting ;" for 
what is everlasting must he always new ; and will 
never become old and vanish away, as did the Mo- 
saic. The effects of this new covenant must re- 
main as long as the redeemed and their inheritance 
exist. It is also " new " because although typically 
confirmed four hundred and thirty years before the 
law it was not antitypieally or fully confirmed un- 
til about fifteen hundred years after the law, when 
the blood of Christ was shed as " the blood of the 
everlasting covenant," and thus a different, "a new 
and living way," was opened up for the pardon of 
sin ; a way new and different from any that had 
been seen before, whether under the Mosaic or the 
patriarchal dispensation. — Heb. xiii, 20 : x, 20. 

The following reasons prove that it is the Abra- 
hamic covenant in which all Christians now stand, 
and hence the inheritance promised in that cove- 
nant is theirs : 1st, The law could not disannul it, 
Gal. iii, 17. 2nd, Christ came " to confirm " its 
promises, Rom. xv, 8. 3rd, He is the one Seed 
named in that covenant and therefore the Heir, 
while they are the multitudinous seed and joint- 
heirs with Him of the same inheritance. — Gal. iii, 
16, 29 : Rom. viii, 17. 4th, It is "an everlasting 
covenant," and therefore still in force. —Gen. xvii, 
7, 8: 1 Chron. xvi, 15-18. 

Paul says this new covenant, of which Christ is 
Mediator, is " better " than the Mosaic, and was 



106 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

"established upon better promises/*— Heb. viii, 
6. Let ns contrast them i:i a few particulars. — 
Moses was mediator of the Mosaic covenant: but 
Christ is Mediator of the Abrahamic. The Mo- 
saic was dedicated by blood of calves aud goats 
" which can nev< r take away sin : " but the Abra- 
hamic by the precious blood of Christ which 
" cleanseth us from all sin." — 1 Jno. i, 7. The 
Mosaic covenant was only provisional or tempo- 
rary — till Christ should come: but the Abrahamic 
is everlasting. — Gal. iii, 19. The Mosaic covenant 
could not confer righteousness, eternal life, nor the 
eternal heritance: but the Abrahamic confers all 
these on its heirs. The Mosaic bequeathed chiefly 
to one nation : the Abrahamic bequeaths to believers 
of all nations. 

All these considerations with regard to the two 
covenants prove conclusively that it is the Abra- 
hamic covenant in which we must find the eternal 
inheritance pointed out. Paul says, "To Abra- 
ham and his Seed were the promises made. He 
saith not And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, 
And to thy Seed, which is Christ. And this I 
say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before 
of God in Christ, the law, which was four hun- 
dred and thirty years after, cannot disannul that it 
should make the promise of none effect. For if 
the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of 
promise." — Gal. iii, 16-18. In this brief quotation 
is condensed a rich treasury of wisdom. Among 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 107 

other things, it tells us that tho inheritance is 
the thing promised ; that Abraham anil his Seed 
(i. e. Christ and the saints, ver 2d) ire the heirs; 
and that these promises, also called a "covenant" 
were made four hundred and thirtv years before 
the law. Now, commencing wim the giving of 
the law at Sinai, and measuring ba kwards four 
hundred and thirty years, we come lo the days 
when the covenant was being made, and we hear 
the Lord promising to give an eternal inheritance 
to Abraham and his Seed. In such expressions as 
the following the promise is several times re- 
peated — " Unto thy Seed will I give this land." — 
Gen. xii, 7. "All the land which thou seest, to 
thee will I give it, and to thy Seed forever" — Gen. 
xiii, 15. " I will give unto thee, and to thy Seed 
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all 
the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession." 
Gen. xvii, 8. Nor is this all of the inheritance, 
for when Christ and His joint-heirs take possession 
of that land the kingdom of God will be estab- 
lished there and will quickly fill the " whole earth ;" 
hence another promise of Scripture says that Christ 
shall have " the uttermost parts of the earth for His 
possession ; " and another, " Blessed are the meek 
for they shall inherit the earth." — Dan. ii, 35 : 
Psa. ii, 8 : Mat. v, 5. 

We have now proved, 1st, That the Abrahamic 
covenant is "the new testament" spoken of in the 
text ; 2nd, That Christ is the Heir and all the 



108 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

righteous joint-heirs with Him ; 3rd, That the 
laud of Canaan and the ivhole earth will be their 
"eternal inheritance." 

Some, although they cannot deny this plain con- 
clusion, try to avoid confessing that the earth is to 
be our future inheritance by saying they do not 
think it ''essential" to believe it. But this un- 
dertaking to sit in judgment on Holy Scripture, 
and divide off its truths into essential and non-es- 
sential is a presumptuous and perilous affair. What 
would you think of a man who, trying to reduce 
faith and moials to the utmost minimum — to a 
mere skeleton — would undertake to form for him- 
self a creed and a moral code omitting every truth 
and every grace or virtue except what he might deem 
" absolutely essential " to his final salvation ? Do 
you think a character based on such a creed and 
such a code as that would be approved in the day 
of judgment, or that such a man would be saved 
at all ? To suppress the many precious promises 
which declare the whereabouts of the inheritance 
is like impiously trying to run a pen through those 
promises, or to hide their light under a bushel. 
The Lord has not revealed anything superfluous ; 
"whatsoever things were written aforetime were 
written for our learning." — Rom. xv, 4. "All 
Scripture is profitable for doctrine" — 2 Tim. iii, 
16. We should gladly accept "every word that 
proeeedeth out of the mouth of God." — Mat. iv, 4. 
The whereabouts of the inheritance is a prominent 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 109 

part of that gospel of the kingdom which we must 
believe in order to be saved. Compare Mat. xxiv, 
14; Mar. xvi, 16. The Lord has told us where 
the inheritance will be, and has sworn to perform 
His promise — " I will perform the oath which I 
sware unto Abraham/' — (Gen. xxvi, 3) ; surely 
then it is essential to believe that He will keep 
His word. The blessed Son of God has also told 
us where it will be, saying, " blessed are the meek 
for they shall inherit the earth" — (Mat. v, 5) ; and 
it is essential to believe Him also, for " He that 
believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the 
wrath of God abideth on him." — Jno. iii, 36. 

Common sense teaches us that in taking a jour- 
ney to any place we are much more apt to get 
there and will have a much easier journey if we 
know just where it is before we start; otherwise 
we are liable to go in an opposite direction, and 
perhaps never get there. Does an attorney in 
writing a deed of great importance think it non- 
essential to specify the whereabouts of the estate 
conveyed ? In the parables of the supper and the 
marriage feast — (Lu. xiv ; Mat. xxii), suppose you 
that the servants who carried the invitations ne- 
glected to tell the invited ones where the supper or 
feast would be ? Is it customary to leave out such 
an important item as that ? Well, the servants in 
those parables represent those who preach " the 
gospel of the kingdom," by which gospel the Lord 
is inviting us to " His kingdom and glory." And 



110 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

truly that gospel tells us plainly enough ivhere the 
kingdom and glory will be. These are " things 
which are revealed " and therefore " belong unto 
us and to our children forever." — Deut. xxix, 29. 
2. When will the inheritance be obtained ? 
"A testament is of force after men are dead ; other- 
wise it is of no strength at all while the testator 
liveth." — Heb. ix, 17. And in some instances an 
estate is not received until a long time after the tes- 
tator's death, owing to the non-age of some of the 
heirs. But was it ever known in any court of law 
since the world began, that a portion of the heirs, 
not only during the non-age of some but also be- 
fore the birth of some, and even before the death of 
the testator were put in possession of the inheri- 
tance ? Now whether we call the arrangement 
alluded to in the text a testament or only a cove- 
nant, there can be no disputing the fact that 
it required the death of Christ to bring it into 
force. How then could those heirs who died be- 
fore the Testator obtain immediately that inheri- 
tance; entering into possession of an heavenly 
Canaan at death, as some people tell us ? Would 
not this be utterly subversive of the testamentary 
illustration ? Why speak of the eternal inheri- 
tance as something to be obtained by and after the 
death of Christ if it could be equally obtained 
without and before His death ? This very epistle 
to the Hebrews declares that those who died before 
the death of Christ " received not the promise," 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. Ill 

and shall "not be made perfect without us." — 
Heb. xi, 39, 40. After Abraham, Isaac and Ja 
cob had been dead nearly two hundred years the 
giving of the inheritance to them was spoken of as 
still future. — Ex. vi, 4. All the heirs will receive 
it together, at the resurrection, as many lines of ar- 
gument converge to prove. Some of those lines of 
argument are, (1) those testimonies which mention 
particular heirs; (2) those which describe the 
present condition of the inheritance; (3) those re- 
lating to the state of the dead ; (4) the great para- 
bles. 

Abraham obtained "none inheritance in it," 
and the great Redeemer himself even while so- 
journing upon it " had not where to lay his head/' 
Ac. vii, 5 ; Mat. viii, 20. But when He shall 
" come in His glory " He will receive " the utter- 
most parts of the earth " for his possession.— Psa. 
ii,8. 

The inheritance itself had yet to be prepared 
even for the apostles ; how then could the patri- 
archal heirs who died during the previous four 
thousand years be already in it ? If the patriarchs 
were already in it, and it was good enough for 
them, was it not good enough for the apostles ? 
But how can you suppose that the Saviour speaks 
of the holy heaven above as the place to be pre- 
pared? Since it is already good enough for the 
Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the holy an- 
gels, I would think that we ought rather to be 



112 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

prepared for that, than that for us. But it is evi- 
dent that the groaning earth, waiting to be delivered 
shall indeed be prepared and repaired by Him who 
will "make all things new." — Rev. xxi, 5 ; Rom. 
viii, 21.* The regenerated earth which the meek 
shall inherit (Mat. v, 5) after thus prepared, will 
be as homogeneous with their risen and glorified 
bodies as the present earth is with their present 
bodies. The Saviour's going to heaven has much 
to do with the making ready or preparing of that 
inheritance ; and we must wait until He shall 
" come again " and receive us to himself, before 
we can enter into possession of it. The present 
state of the dead proves they will not obtain it be- 
fore the resurrection. They " know not any- 
thing " — Eccles. ix, 5. "The grave is their 
house" — Job xvii, 13. They "sleep in the dust 
of the earth " — Dan. xii, 2. Have " not ascended 
into heaven " — Ac. ii, 34. They "shall be re- 
compensed at the resurrection of the just" — (Lu. 
xiv, 14), "when the Son of man shall come in the 
glory of His Father with His angels — (Mat. xvi, 
27), and when they shall put on the prerequisite 
immortality." — 1 Cor. xv, 54. 



* " God intends to rescue the creation from this confused 
state, and to deliver it from being thus held in bondage to 
man's depravity, that it may partake of and minister to the 
glorious liberty of His children." — Scott, on Rom. viii. " The 
whole earth shall become a more beautiful paradise than 
Adam ever saw." — John Wesley, in sermon on the New Cre- 
ation. 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 113 

The great parables prove the same. The la- 
borers in the vineyard were employed at different 
hours during the day, but paid off at one stated 
season, " when evening was come." We must be 
content to go by the Master's clock ; our times 
are in His hand. When the great dial -plate above 
that marks the times and seasons points to the hour 
of His return, He will come without delay and 
call the laborers, from " the last " that entered the 
vineyard and are still toiling above the sod, to 
"the first" who entered it long ago and are now 
sleeping in the silent grave. "Thou shalt call, 
and I will answer thee," says Job. Yes, from 
land and ocean He will summon them — "gather 
my saints together unto me ; those that have made 
a covenant with me by sacrifice," even by the great 
Sacrifice on Calvary. How beautifully the para- 
ble fits with calling persons into the Church all 
through the past ages and dispensations, and re- 
warding them all together at the resurrection when 
the Lord comes ! And just as the laborers are not 
paid off irregularly through the day, as if the 
steward were kept in his office constantly employ- 
ing one and paying another ; so neither are the 
wheat and tares gathered singly and at odd times 
all through the year, but in the time of harvest, at 
the end of the age," awn. Also the good fish 
and bad are represented as arraigned and sepa- 
rated in a multitude, when the net is full and 
brought to shore ; not one by one, every few 



114 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

minutes, as by a hook and line process. 
Thus with wonderful clearness these para- 
bles teach that the righteous are not singly and 
every day going from some part or other of the 
"field" or "vineyard" or "sea-" immediately 
to glory — though we hear in some funeral sermons 
that the deceased has " gone to his reward " — but 
must wait and " be recompensed at the resurrection 
of the just," not at the death of the just. — Luke 
xiv, 14. The attitude of those who have turned 
to God is that of " waiting for His Son from 
heaven." — 1 Thes. i, 10. Even the righteous dead 
may be spoken of as waiting for Him, for Job 
says, " All the days of my appointed time will I 
wait till my change come," and " If I wait the 
grave is my house." — Job xiv, 14 : xvii, 13. And 
so they have only, as it were, changed waiting- 
rooms — they in the grave, we in the world. I 
have been told that some of the early Christians, 
to express their faith, were buried in a standing 
posture as if anxiously " gazing up into heaven " 
(like the disciples on Olivet), " not having received 
the promises," but waiting for the returning 
Saviour. 

The Church has waited long and suffered much 
during the heavenly Bridegroom's absence in the 
" far country " to which He has gone ; and what 
if in the very act of returning some angelic band 
were to meet Him in the skies and say, "She is 
even now dead, for the last Christian on earth has 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 115 

been put to death by persecution," would even that 
cause Him to turn back ? An earthly physician, 
if met on the way by tidings that his patient is 
dead, turns back and goes to struggle with death 
and be again defeated on some other battle-field. 
But Oh ! it is not so with Christ, the great physi- 
cian. Such tidings would but hasten him hither, 
for He could say, as He did of the ruler's daugh- 
ter, " She is not dead but sleepeth." And on His 
arrival, His bright presence will throw a stream of 
light into the deepest grave of His people, and His 
sweet voice awaken all their dust into life and 
everlasting joy. 

Although neither in life nor death have the 
heirs yet obtained their inheritance, yet it is guar- 
anteed to them in a testament which "cannot be 
broken " ; for its divine Executor is able to carry 
out all its provisions even though it require the 
raising of most of the heirs from the dead. 
Christ is related to that will as Testator, Execu- 
tor, Surety, and Heir. In human affairs these 
offices would require four different persons, but 
when they all center in Christ they have an illus- 
trative use which must not be strained beyond that 
point which they are intended to elucidate. Thus 
the words Lamb, Lion, Vine, Door, Sacrifice, 
High Priest, Advocate, Judge, &c, do not conflict 
at all as applied to Christ, but are only used to de- 
scribe the various attributes displayed by Him in 
so many parts and portions of His work. For 



116 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

instance, His first coming to suffer was like a 
"Lamb"; His future coming to conquer will be 
as a "Lion." — Lsa : liii, 7 : John i, 29 : Rev. v, 5. 
3. By what means will the inheritance be ob- 
tained ? In the present state men are disqualified 
from holding everlasting or eternal possession of 
their property on account of death, and death it«elf 
is the result of sin — " By one man's disobedience 
sin entered into the world, and death by sin." — 
Rom. v, 12. How then can. we get rid of sin and 
death ? Divine mercy has provided a way for us. 
" Christ died for our sins."— 1 Cor. xv, 3. " God 
so loved the world, that He gave His only begot- 
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii, 
16. It is therefore "by means of" the death of 
Christ that the inheritance is made possible. This 
enables us to understand why His blood is called 
" the blood of the everlasting covenant," or the 
" blood of the new testament shed for many for the 
remission of sins" — Heb. xiii, 20 : Mat. xxvi, 28. 
Hence learn the preciousness of that inheritance, 
from the fact that Christ has died to secure it for 
us. And so the whole blood-washed throng of 
heirs — those whodived before as well as those who 
lived after His death — will meet in the resurrec- 
tion and unite with grateful hearts and voices in 
the song of redemption, saying, " Thou wast slain 
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of 
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 117 

and hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; 
and we shall reign on the earth" — Rev. 5, 10. 

See that glorified inheritance of the saints in 
light ! a perpetual paradise restored ! populous 
with bright forms! resounding with angelic odes! 
and teeming with all pleasant things ! And when 
you contemplate these things remember the agony 
and the tears which the holy Saviour endured to 
purchase them for you. And now He promises 
that if you will do His commandments, He will 
give you a right — even a right — to the tree of life. 
Oh what condescending love ! that a sinner with- 
out a right even to a crumb of bread or breath of 
air, should be offered a right to the tree of life in 
the midst of the paradise of God ! The Saviour's 
enriching love is free to the humblest, and mighty 
to save. Take an instance from His walks among 
men. On some of the uplands leading from the 
great and fertile plain of Esdraelon, stood the little 
city of Nain reposing in the quiet sunlight amid 
the verdant fields and vineyards of that favored 
land. But sadness reigns in at least one household 
of that city, for lo ! a funeral train is winding like 
a wintry shadow along the streets and issuing forth 
from one of the gates. The corpse is borne by 
sympathizing friends ; it is a young man, cut down 
in the morning of his days, torn from the cheerful 
society of young persons before the plans of his 
life had even begun to be realized perhaps. This 
was a startling stroke, but what makes it still more 



118 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

distressing, he was " the only son of his mother," 
and, sadder still, u she a widow." In that vast 
procession — for there was much people of the city 
with her — I can almost imagine that I can see 
her tottering along, almost blinded with swift- 
falling tears; her head bowed with woe, and her 
heart almost broken as she thinks " who will care 
for mother now?" But ah! just over the hills 
another company is approaching to meet them by 
the same pathway. The blessed Jesus, the great 
Prophet of Israel, is there, and His disciples, and 
throngs of people with Him. And little does the 
weeping mother know whose all-seeing and pitying 
eye has already " had compassion on her." The 
gentle Saviour has comprehended the whole scene 
at a glance, and says unto her " Weep not." Then 
He came and touched the coffin, and they that bare 
him stood still. As if His gentle heart was too 
full for words, He makes that speaking gesture 
with His hand, "Stop!" And what a blest obe- 
dience was that ! Suppose they had gone on ; His 
own mother could have advised them, " Whatso- 
ever He saith unto you, do :" — a golden saying 
which all of us ought to let "sink down into" our 
hearts, and echo its musical sweetness along the 
vista of our pilgrimage, through all the scenes of 
life. " Whatsoever He saith unto you do," for 
there is a blessing in it. Well, they stood still. 
And now a solemn hush comes over that vast 
assembly, with one thrilling moment of suspense, 



THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 119 

when probably not a sound was heard but the too 
uncontrollable sobbings of the mother ; and there 
sounds out on the air the sweet and heavenly voice 
of Jesus, " young man I say unto thee arise;" — 
" And he that was dead sat up and began to speak," 
and "He delivered him to his mother." After 
rescuing him from the bloody jaws of the grave- 
worm, the Saviour might have claimed him for 
His attendant or body-servant, as it were; but no, 
He gave him back to his mother. There was 
much for that young man to do in his own humble 
sphere. " Let every little candle shine, you in 
your corner and I in mine." Perhaps the young 
man was needful to the comfort of his widowed 
mother, and the Saviour would thus teach all 
young persons u to show piety at home, and to 
requite their parents: for this is good and acceptable 
before God." — 1 Tim. v, 4. The Saviour himself 
even in the rack of agony which we suffered on 
the cross did not forget to make provision for His 
mother, by commending her to the care of the 
beloved disciple. This great miracle teaches that 
the Saviour watches over the needs of parents, and 
pities their bereavements. " The eyes of the Lord 
are in every place beholding the evil and the good." 
Fathers and mothers, who then can be so dear to 
you as the Lord Jesus ? I beseech you to come to 
Jesus yourselves and bring your children with you. 
u The Lord said unto Noah come thou and all thy 
house into the ark." 



120 THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE. 

Oh that we had some Andrews here. He had 
a way of bringing his friends to Jesus. He 
brought Peter that afterwards became such a great 
apostle. On another occasion some Greeks desired 
to see Jesus and there we find Andrew again lend- 
ing his assistance. But is there one in this house 
to-day who says, "No one cares for me ?" Let poor 
old blind Bartimeus tell you that you are mistaken. 
As he sat by the wayside begging he heard a com- 
motion of many voices and footsteps and when he 
enquired what it was they told him " Jesus of 
Nazareth passeth by." No doubt he had heard of 
the Saviour's great miracles, and so he cried out, 
" Jesus thou Son of David, have mercy on me." 
But the persons around him told him to " hold his 
peace." Not discouraged by their coldness how- 
ever, he cried the more, " Son of David, have 
mercy on me." And though every body seemed 
to scorn him, no one to take, him by the hand or 
give him one word of encouragement, yet the 
blessed Saviour's own quick ear had heard that 
humble cry, and so He stood still and commanded 
the poor blind man to be called unto Him. Then 
see how quickly the popular voice is changed ; they 
had rebuked him before, but now they say a Be of 
good comfort, rise ; He calleth thee." And so he 
came and was healed and followed Jesus. — Mar. 
x, 46-52. So then, whether any one else invites 
you or not, " be of good comfort, rise ; He calleth 
thee." 



121 
SIXTH DISCOURSE. 



" God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but 
have everlasting life." — Jno. Ill, 16. 

The word immortality means " never-dying ex- 
istence." It therefore, of course, implies the idea 
of eternal or everlasting life, Correct views on 
this question are very necessary to a clear under- 
standing and full appreciation of the gospel of the 
kingdom. It is thought by some that every per- 
son, however wicked, is already in possession of 
immortality. But according to Cruden's Concor- 
dance the word immortality occurs but five times 
in the Bible (Apocrypha always excepted), and is 
never applied to sinners. Once we are told that 
Christ has brought it to light through the gospel. 
2 Tim. i, 10. Once that God only hath it. — 1 Tim. 
vi, 17. Once that we must " seek for" it. (Do 
you seek for what you already have?) — Rom. ii, 7. 
Twice that the righteous will put it on at the resur- 
rection. — 1 Cor. xv, 53, 54. Thus the immortality 
which the gospel offers to men is an endless life 
manifested through an incorruptible body at the res- 
urrection. This immortality was exemplified or 
brought to light by the literal and bodily resurrec- 
tion of Christ from the dead, to die no more : which 
6 



1 22 IMMORTALITY J 

resurrection is a precedent of ours — " Christ the 
firstfruits ; afterward they that are Christ's at His 
coming."— 1 Cor. xv, 23.* 

The word " soul " is found several hundred times 
in the Bible, but the phrase " immortal soul " is 
never once used in that Holy Book. According to 
Cruden's Concordance, the word " immortal " oc- 
curs but once in the Bible, and is then applied not 
to the human soul but to God — "the King eternal, 
immortal, invisible." — 1 Tim. i, 17. Having now 
shown that the phrases " immortal soul " and "im- 
mortality of the soul " (the pet phrases of some 
writers and speakers) are never found in the Bible, 
it follows that if mankind would observe the same 
silence as the Bible does concerning them we would 
never hear them used in human language. And 
surely " the law of the Lord is perfect, converting 
the soul," (Psa. xix, 7), and hence the whole gos- 
pel and the whole plan of redemption can be fully 
and effectually advocated without those phrases. 
The Bible contains enough words to express its own 
doctrines, and we should esteem it a virtue to ex- 
purgate from our faith such phrases as are neither 
found in nor justified by that Holy Book. How 



* "Immortality, in the sacred writings, is never applied to 
the spirit of man. It is not the doctrine of Plato which the 
resurrection of Jesus proves. It is the immortality of the body 
of which his resurrection is a proof and pledge. This was 
never developed till He became the firstborn from the dead." 
—A. Campbell, in "Christian System," p. 281, A.D. 1839. 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED 123 

then were these phrases brought into use ? Cham- 
bers' Encyclopedia says, "The Egyptian nation 
appears to have been the first to declare that the 
soul was immortal." — Edition of 1876. But if it 
had been a doctrine of God, and of such impor- 
tance as some think, we should suppose that Isr'ael 
would have been the fii-st to declare it, and not the 
abominable Egyptians ; for " the secret of the Lord 
is with them that fear Him," and " the meek will 
He guide in judgment." — Psa. xxv, 9, 14. The 
Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett and Brown, 
highly extolled by preachers and college professors of 
various denominations, says, "No where is the im- 
mortality of the soul, distinct from the body taught : 
a notion which many erroneously have derived 
from heathen philosophers. Scripture does not 
contemplate the anomalous state brought about by 
death as the consummation to be earnestly looked 
for (2 Cor. v, 4), but the resurrection." — On 1 Cor. 
xv, 53. Some of the heathen philosophized not 
only on the conscious existence of the soul after 
leaving the body, but also before coming into it. 
Perhaps they thought the soul could get along as 
well without the body before inhabiting it as after- 
wards. But facts proved that men had no recol- 
lection of having lived in~a previous life, and this 
objection threatened to explode the theory : with 
fertile invention however they affirmed that their 
souls, before coming into their present bodies, had 
to drink a cup of forgetfulness. But an early 



124 IMMORTALITY J 

Christian writer answered, "How then did they 
remember that cup? " And thus the tangled web 
of heathen philosophy on that point was proved 
to be " foolishness." 

A reliable Greek and Hebrew scholar will testify 
that the words translated " soul " (nephesh in He- 
brew and psuche in Greek) are in Genesis four 
times applied to fishes, fowls, and creeping things 
of the earth before they are applied to man. The 
English reader may see two of these instances by 
the marginal reading of Gen. i, 20, 30. And 
when applied to man in ch. ii, 7, it is not even 
then said that he became an immortal or ever- 
living soul, or that he had such a soul put into 
him ; but simply, " man became a living soul." 
On this passage the American Bible Union says, 
" The Hebrew word (nephesh) here rendered soul, 
includes all beings that have animal life; and 
hence it is applied to animals of the sea and land 
in Gen. i, 20, 21, 24, 30. The English word soul 
(like the German seele) originally had this extent 
of meaning, as in verses 20, 30, in the margin of 
the common English version." — Genesis with 
Notes, 1873. These are stubborn and valuable 
facts which the sincere enquirer after truth will not 
dare to ignore. Do you not see then what a mon- 
strous thing it would be to say that a soul is an 
immortal something which can live and act with 
an individuality of its own while the body is moul- 
dering in the dust ? Can any one suppose that 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 125 

every fish, fowl, <fcc, has an immortal part of that 
kind when he reads, " Let the waters bring forth 
abundantly the moving creature that hath life 
(margin soul) f , — Gen. i, 20. Would it not be 
profane to take a title which, occurring but once in 
Scripture, is applied to God, and apply that sacred 
title to every fish, fowl, and wicked man ? When 
the Bible declares that "God ONLY hath immor- 
tality," would it not be a positive falsehood to say 
that every fish, fowl, and every man, however vile, 
has it also ? Could we persistently affirm such a 
falsehood and hope to escape the lake of fire ? — 
Rev. xxi, 8. 

The " Speaker's Commentary," by " Bishops 
and other clergy of the Church of England," says 
on Gen. ii, 7, " All animals have the body, all 
the living soul, but the breath of life breathed into 
his nostrils by God himself is said of man alone." 
But neither does the phrase "breath of life" prove 
a present immortality in man for the lower animals 
also have the breath of life — " there went in unto 
Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh 
wherein is the breath of life." — Gen. vii, 15, 22. 
"They have all one breath." — Eccles. iii, 19. 
What then is the true condition of the dead be- 
tween death and the resurrection ? Let the Bible 
answer. " The dead know not anything. . . There 
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom 
in the grave (hades) whither thou goest." This 
proves them unconscious and inactive ; and hence 



126 IMMORTALITY J 

without either pleasure or pain. It is the night 
"when no man can work." — Jno. ix, 4 ; Eccl. ix, 
5. " In that very day his thoughts perish." — Psa. 
cxlvi, 4. " His sons come to honour, and he 
knoweth it not ; and they are brought low, but he 
perceiveth it not of them." — Job xiv, 21. " Thou 
art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of 
us." — Isa. lxiii, 16. They " dwell in dust." — Isa. 
xxvi, 19. They " sleep in the dust of the earth." 
Dan. xii, 2. They " sleep in Jesus." — Jno. xi, 
11, 14; 1 Thes. iv, 14. They have "not as- 
cended into the heavens." — Ac. ii, 34. " I shall 
go to him " (2 Sam. xii, 23), means " I will go 
down into the grave unto my son." — Gen. xxxvii, 
35. It is plain from these testimonies that the 
future reward of the righteous depends on the 
resurrection — they are to be recompensed u at the 
resurrection of the just," not at the death of the 
just. — Lu. xiv, 14. Paul, after naming some of 
his sufferings, makes all his hopes of compensation 
depend on the resurrection, saying, " What ad- 
vantageth it me the dead rise not f ' — 1 Cor. xv, 
32.* He did not preach Jesus and the immortal 



* " What the apostle says here is a regular and legitimate 
conclusion from the doctrine, that there is no resurrection; for 
if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgment; 
no future state of rewards and punishments ; why, therefore, 
should we bear crosses and keep ourselves under continual 
discipline! Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we 
can, for to-morrow we die : and there is an end of us forever." 
— Adam Clarke. On Heb. xi, 19, the same writer says, " The 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 127 

soul, as many now try to do, but " Jesus and the 
resurrection." — Ac. xvii, 18. With much force 
Adam Clarke says concerning the resurrection, 
" There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which 
more stress is laid ; and there is not a doctrine in 
the present system of preaching which is treated 
with more neglect." It is the theory of going to 
glory at death which causes the doctrine of the 
resurrection to be treated with so much neglect.* 
The personal coming of Christ, on which the 
resurrection depends, is also neglected from the 
same cause. In perfect and beautiful harmony 
with its teaching that the resurrection is the time 
of reward, the Bible also teaches that the second 
coming of Christ is the time of reward; so the 
two classes of testimony ought to be viewed to- 
gether, one serving to strengthen and confirm the 

resurrection of the dead must have been a doctrine of the 
patriarchs : they expected a heavenly inheritance; they saw 
they died as did other men ; and they must have known 
that they could not enjoy it but in consequence of a resur- 
rection from the dead." 



* " In putting souls in heaven, hell, and purgatory, ye 
destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the 
resurrection. . . If the souls be in heaven, tell me why they 
be not in as good case as the angels be ? And then what 
cause is there of the resurrection ?"-Tyndale, a great reform- 
er and martyr of the sixteenth century — of whom Edwards' 
Encyclopedia says : " To this great man we are under great 
obligations for our emancipation from the fetters of Popery." 



128 IMMOKTALITY; 

other. We can have no resurrection before Christ 
c « nes, for " the Lord himself shall descend from 
h ^aven . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise." — 
1 Thes. iv, 16. And "then shall He reward 
every man according to his work." — Mat. xvi, 
27. " When the chic!' Shepherd shall appear ye 
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
a vay." — 1 Pet. v, 4. " It is a righteous thing 
with God to recompense affliction to those who 
afflict you, arfd to you who are afflicted rest with 
us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus J 1 A. B. 
ITni m's translation of 2 Hies, i, 6, 7. Here we 
perceive that neither the "affliction" (thlipsis) 
pertaining to the wicked, nor the "rest" (anesis) 
pertaining to the righteous will be received before 
He comes. It is a mistake to suppose, as some 
have done, that the word " rest " in the last quo- 
tation is a verb) for it is as much a noun as the 
word "tribulation" or "affliction" in the same 
quotation. Paul is here teaching that the Lord, 
at His coming, will recompense two things — to 
the one party "affliction;" to the other "rest." 
And " let us labor therefore to enter into that rest." 
Heb. iv, 11. From Paul we learn that the advent 
and resurrection will occur under " the last trum- 
pet," and from John that the seventh is the last 
(for he makes no mention of an eighth), also that 
under it the kingdom of God will be established 
on earth, and the " reward given to small and 
great." — 1 Thes. iv, 16 ; 1 Cor. xv, 52 ; with Rev. 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 129 

xi, 15-18. Till He come, therefore, the righteous 
dead must calmly sleep in the revolving earth as if 
rocked in some great cradle and hymned over by 
the zephyr and the storm. Have you not seen a 
loving mother go to her child and, thinking it 
had slept long enough, gently place her hand 
upon its brow and wake it up? Well, " precious 
in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints." 
He marks the moments of their slumbers, and will 
send a beautiful white-robed angel by-and-by to 
awaken each of them and say, perhaps in the very 
words of Scripture, " The Master is come and 
calleth for thee." 

Having now proved that man in the present 
state does not possess immortality, and having 
traced out his whereabouts from the morning of 
creation to the morning of the resurrection, let us 
next enquire what will become of him at the resur- 
rection ? If righteous he will enter upon the en- 
joyment of the promised inheritance and of all the 
shining rewards of a blissful eternity. He will 
be qualified for those eternal joys by the gift of 
that immortality or eternal life which is obtained 
not by nature, but through Christ alone ; for a the 
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eter- 
nal life through our Lord Jesus Christ." — Rom. 
vi, 23. But when the wicked stand before Him 
who " was ordained of God to be the Judge of 
quick and dead," they will be sentenced to " ever- 
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 



130 IMMORTALITY ; 

and from the glory of His power." — Ac. 10, 42 : 
2 Thes. i, 9. There is a great abundance of testi- 
mony to prove the grand truth that, after being 
condemned at the judgment, the wicked shall be 
blotted out of . xistence; but surely the following 
selections ought to he enough to convince all who 
are not blinded by sheer prejudice: — "The day 
cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the 
pround, yea and all that do wickedly, shall be 
stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them 
up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave 
them neither root nor branch. . . And ye shall tread 
down the wicked, for they shall be ASHES under 
the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do 
this, saith the Lord of Hosts."— Mai. iv, 1 , 3. "The 
enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; 
they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume 
away . . Yet a little while and the wicked shall 
not be."— Psa. xxxvii, 10, 20. "The wicked shall 
be silent in darkness." — 1 Sam. ii, 9. They shall 
be "no more." — Psa. civ, 3^. They shall be "as 
nothing." — Isa. xli, 12 : Jer. x, 24. They shall 
pass away and perish "as a snail which melteth," 
and " as wax melteth before the fire." — Psa. lviii, 
8 ; lxviii, 2. " They shall be utterly burned with 
fire." — 2 Sam. xxiii, 6, 7. They shall be burned 
up as chaf or tares of the field. — Mat. iii, 12 : 
xiii, 30, 40. To express their doom in a sentence, 
" They shall be as though they had not been." — 
Obadiah 16. Could any human ingenuity frame 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 131 

words into sentences that would more clearly and 
completely express the utter and final extinction 
of the wicked? After sinning, Adam was driven 
out of Eden lest he should eat of the tree of life 
and live forever. An immortal sinner would be a 
calamity in the universe. * 

Death is the severest penalty known to human 
law. It is called " capital punishment" and if 
never relieved or broken up by a resurrection, 
would it not be an everlasting punishment ? Now 
the Bible does not say " the wages of sin is for- 
ture" but "the wages of sin is death." — Rom. vi, 
23. And that will be the " everlasting punish- 
ment " threatened against the wicked, " the second 
death," a death from which there will be no 
awakening. Scripture clearly explains what is 
meant by "the fire that shall not be quenched"; 
for in Jer. xvii, 27, we read, "I will kindle a fire 
in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces 
of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." The 
fulfillment of this prediction is recorded in Jer. 
lii, 13: Lam. iv, 11. Of course that fire is not 



* " He drove him out of paradise, and removed him from 
the tree of life because He pitied him, (and did not desire) 
that he should continue a sinner forever, nor that the sin 
which surrounded him should be immortal, and evil interm- 
inable." — Irenaeus (about A.D.175) B.iii. c. xxiii. "Gregory 
Nazianzen (born about 328) says the exclusion from the 
tree of life was that evil might not be immortal, and that 
punishment might be an act of benevolence." — Speaker's 
Commentary. 



132 



IMMORTALITY ! 



burning now. When we say that a fire in a burn- 
ing house could not be quenched, we mean simply 
that it consumed the house, don't we ? Eusebius, 
a learned Greek ecclesiastical historian, relates 
(B. vi, c. 41) that "Epimachus and Alexander, 
who had continued for a long time in prison, en- 
during innumerable sufferings from scourges and 
scrapers, were also destroyed in purl asbesto " — 
the very same words which in Mat. iii, 12, and 
Lu. iii, 17, are translated "unquenchable fire." 
Must we suppose the fire which consumed those 
two martyrs to be burning yet, simply because it 
is called unquenchable ? Notice that the fire shall 
burn « the carcasses " of the wicked, and that a 
carcass is neither a disembodied soul nor a living 
body ; but, according to Webster, " a dead body of 
an animal, decaying remains of an animal." It is 
therefore the body which will be cast into that fire. 
Isa. lxvi, 24 : Mat. v, 29, 30. When the car- 
casses of various animals were burned as the offal 
of ancient cities, the worms would consume what 
the fire did not. Neither the worms nor fire pre- 
served those carcasses. We read of " everlasting- 
fire," or, which is the same, " eternal fire," called 
so because its effects or results will be eternal, just 
as the "eternal redemption" and "eternal judg- 
ment" will be eternal in their effects or results, 
not that the acts of redeeming and judging will be 
always going on.-—Heb. vi, 2, and ix, 12. The 
effect of the everlasting or eternal fire will be to 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 133 

reduce the wicked to ashes, for that was its effect 
in former times — "turning, the cities of Sodom and 
Gomorrha into ashes." Compare Jude 7 with 
2 Pet. ii, 6. If allowed to theorize, I would say 
that perhaps it will be an electric fire, like ten 
thousand thunderbolts focalized, for the occasion, 
into a very " lake of fire." And who can say that 
electricity, even in its invisible or diffused state, 
is not an "eternal" element of the material 
universe ? 

Many who advocate endless torture tell us that 
the fire will not be literal ; pangs of conscience 
being the real torment. I think this notion started 
about A.D. 200, with Origen, of whom Adam 
Clarke says that he was " capable of believing and 
teaching the most absurd notions for grave truths." 
Would not this be almost neutralizing future punish- 
ment, especially in the case of those who deserve it 
most, namely, those who have become so steeped in 
sin as to be already "past feeling," " having their 
conscience seared as with a hot iron." — 1 Tim. iv, 
2; Ephes. iv, 19. Surely the advocates of that 
theory would not dare to allegorize the history of 
Sodom and Gomorrha as they do the prophecy of 
of the future fire ! The literal burning of the 
wicked in those two cities has been " set forth for 
an example " of the future punishment, — Jude 7 ; 
Lti. 1 7, 26, 29. It was a literal fire which consumed 
the sacrifice and the armed men. — 1 Kin. 18, 38 ; 
2 Kin. i, 10-14. Surely then "Upon the wicked 



134 IMMORTALITY ; 

He shall reign snares," (margin, " Or, quick burn- 
ing coals") fire and brimstone, and an horrible 
tempest (margin, u Or, a burning tempest ") : this 
shall be the portion of their cup. — Psalms xi, 6. 
The vague notion just referred to concerning 
the nature of future punishment reminds me 
of an equally vague and mystifying notion con- 
cerning the place of it. A prominent preacher of 
the Methodist denomination said (according to a 
newspaper report of his discourse) that he did not 
know whether hell is " above or below." I would 
like to ask him if he ever heard of such a thing 
as going up to hell? When we read concerning a 
certain class of sinners that " the smoke of their 
torment ascendeth up forever," we must remember 
that even in the legal precision* of the law of Moses 
"forever" has a limited meaning — " he shall serve 
him forever," that is, until the death of the servant 
or master, for in death the servant is free from his 
master. — Jobiii, 19; Ex. xxi, 6. The "forever" in 
Jonah 2, 6, lasted only three days and nights. But 
Im not saying that "forever" has everywhere a limit- 
ed meaning, for it is a sound rule concerning the 
Greek aion, translated " forever," that, as the Enc. 
Rel. Knowl. says, " It must always be taken in the 
sense of unlimited duration, unless something ap- 
pears in the subject or connection in which it occurs 
to limit its signification." Now, when applied to 
the conscious torment which the wicked will endure 
before expiring, something does appear in such a 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 135 

subject or connection, to limit its signification, for 
I have heaped up testimony which abundantly 
proves the wicked to be of a perishable and mortal 
nature. Jt^f It is a fact of deep significance that 
they are not compared to anything fire-proof or 
indestructible, but only to the most evanescent and 
cumbustible materials, as chaff, stubble, tares, 
fat of lambs, (fec.-^H Throughout the Bible 
we are taught " the wages of sin is DEATH " 
(Rom. vi, 23) ; but it was the Serpent, the father of 
lies, who first denied this great truth, and, with as 
much bombast and solemnity as if he had been 
delivering a modern oration against it, said, " Ye 
shall not surely die, for God doth know that in 
the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be 
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and 
evil." — Jno. viii,44; Gen. iii, 4, 5, This bears 
a startling resemblence to the assertion of many 
who are still affirming sinners to be immortal and 
capable of existing and sinning as long as God and 
the angels live — in endless duration. But it is a 
libel on our poor mortal race to say we are capable 
of perpetrating an eternity of crime. With all our 
faults we are not so bad as that, for if, in the day 
of the Lord, we shall not be fonnd worthy of end- 
less life in holiness and happiness we shall not 
obtain endless life of any kind, but will only obtain 
"the wages of sin."* 



Many of the primitive fathers in the church explicitly 



136 IMMORTALITY J 

The following passages explain one another: 
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as 
it was; and the spirit ( pneuma) shall return to 
God who gave it." — Eccles. xii, 7. " His breath 
(pneuma) goeth forth, he returneth to his earth." — 
Psa. cxlvi, 4. " Thou takest away their breath 
(pneuma), they die, and return to their dust." — 
Psa. civ, 29. " The body without the spirit (pneu- 
ma; margin, breath) is dead." — Jas. ii, 26. In the 
Greek it is the same word, pneuma, here translated 
"breath " and "spirit," The first passage affirms 
that God gave the spirit or breath which returns, 
for it is He that "giveth to ail life and breath;" 
it was He that breathed into man the breath of 
life. — Ac. xvii, 26; Gen. ii, 7. The second pas- 
sage, being added to the first, affirms that although 
the spirit or breath returneth to God yet the man 
himself, as indicated by the masculine persona) 
pronoun "he, returned to his earth," and so they 
separate. Why should you be surprised that the 
man proper, the real person, the man himself, goes 
to dust? has not the divine sentence postively 
required this? — "Unto dust shalt thou return." — 

maintained the natural mortality of the soul." — Baptist Li- 
brary, 1846, vol. 1, p. 485. " I think we are not warranted 
in concluding (as some have done) so positively concerning 
this question as to make it a point of Christian faith to in- 
terpret figuratively and not literally the ' death ' and ' des- 
truction' spoken of in Scripture as the doom of the con- 
demned ; and to insist on the belief that they are kept alive 
forever.' 1 — Archbishop Whately, Future State, p. 185. 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 137 

Gen. iii, 19. Would the return of the mere body 
to the" dust, while the personal " he " or " thou w 
escapes to immediate glory be a fulfillment of this 
law? If you believe Solomon when he says a the 
spirit shall return to God " you are equally bound 
to believe him when he says, " the dead know not 
anything/' and that, as to the item of death, both 
man and beast " go unto one place." — Eccles. iii, 
20 ; ix, 5. But this is no denial of future rewards 
and punishments, for he also affirms that a God 
shall bring every work into judgment," which 
implies man's resurrection, — Eccles. xii, 14. 

In the promise to the thief Griesbach notices a 
Greek reading which has no comma between "thee" 
and "to-day." Placing the comma after "to-day," 
I would understand the promise to mean, I say 
unto thee to-day, that is, I promptly give thee a 
present assurance as a comfort in a dying hour, 
that thou shalt be with me in the paradise at my 
coming. The word " to-day " might also be a 
precious reminder to the supplicant that in his 
particular case the prayer was not too late, but 
came " while it is called to-day." — Heb. iii, 13. It 
is not only . our right but our duty to alter the 
punctuation when the sense requires it, for the 
punctuation of the Bible, either in Greek or Eng- 
lish, was not placed there by the inspired writers, 
but is a human invention.* I may remark that 



* " The sacred writings had originally, and for a long time, 



138 IMMORTALITY ; 

"shalt thou be," in the Saviour's answer, was not 
intended by the old English translation as a ques- 
tion, any more than " unto dust shalt thou return/' 
in Gen. iii, 19. The A. B. U. translation reads 
"thou shalt be/' which agrees better with the 
usage of modern English. Notice the inconsis- 
tency of those who tell you that the pronoun 
" thou " in the promise to the thief means his im- 
mortal soul, but that the same " thou " in the 
sentence " unto dust shalt thou return " means 
only the mortal body. Semeron (" to-day") is an 
adverb occurring in the New Testament thirty- 
nine times, and is rendered " to-day " eighteen 
times, and " this day " twenty-one times. In the 
single book of Deut., I find seven occurrences of 
s~meron having the comma after it, both in the 
Greek and English version. — Deut. iv, 40 ; xi, 8, 
13, 28 ; xiii, 18 ; xix, 9 ; xxviii, 1 ; also Ac. 
xxvi, 29. For another instance of declaring to- 
day, something to be done at a future time, see 

no punctuation, nor any such divisions as those of chapter and 
verse. The words were not so much as separated by inter- 
vals from one another. So late even as the fifth century the 
New Testament had none of the ordinary marks. They 
form as the reader has seen, no part of the original text, but 
are mere human contrivances. The punctuation is often very 
faulty. In some of the early printed editions the points 
seem to have been put in almost at random, and even in the 
present Greek text, as well as in the English version the sense 
and beauty of many passages are marred by injudicious and 
inaccurate punctuation." — Comprehensive Commentary, vol. 6. 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 139 

Zech. ix, 12, 13. Three days afterwards the 
blessed Saviour said that He had "not yet as- 
cended " to His Father ; how then can you sup- 
pose that the penitent thief went there with Him 
on the very day of the crucifixion ? It sounds in- 
consistent when we hear people say that the holy 
apostles were required to wait until a place should 
be "prepared" and the Saviour " come again" 
to them, but that the penitent thief did not have 
to wait at all but went there immediately to death. 
To understand the answer of the Lord, you must 
understand the prayer of the thief — he did not 
say, " Lord remember me when thou goest" but 
" when thou comest in thy kingdom," referring to 
the second coming when the kingdom will be es - 
tablished on earth. As Archbishop Whately has 
said, " Into thy kingdom is a mistranslation ; it 
should be ' in thy kingdom/ The meaning is ' at 
thy second coming ' in triumphant glory." — Fu- 
ture State, p. 250. It is the same kind of expres- 
sion as (i when the Son of man cometh in His 
glory." — Mat. xxv, 31. In both places the Greek 
is not eis {into), but en (in). The American Bible 
Union has therefore given the correct translation, 
" Lord remember me when thou comest in thy 
kingdom." The answer agrees with this, — "Thou 
shalt be with me in the paradise (to paradeiso) "; for 
the kingdom will be a blissful restored paradise 
on earth. Liddell and Scott define pradeisos (i. e. 
paradise), to be " a park, or pleasure-grounds ; 



140 IMMORTALITY ; 

an oriental word used by the LXX for the garden 
of Eden." The Greek version of Gen. ii, 8, 9, 
10, 16, and iii, 3, 23, has paradeisos where the 
English has "garden" And that paradise which 
once existed on earth will be permanently restored 
to the redeemed in a larger and infinitely better 
form when the now groaning and inanimate 
creation shall participate with them in " the 
glorious liberty of the children of God." — Rom. 
viii, 21 ; *sa. li, 3, and xi, 9 ; Num. xiv, 21 ; 
Rev. ii, 7, and xxi, 5. But Paul seems to speak 
of paradise and a third heaven as the same, why 
then does he say " caught up into paradise," if it 
is to be on earth ? It may be spoken of as " up " 
because though on earth it will be a higher or 
more exalted state of existence than the persecuted 
and suffering life he was then leading. But this 
phrase contains no " up " in the Greek. Camp- 
bell's version (1832) renders it, " snatched away 
into paradise," and " snatched away to the third 
heaven." In both places it is arpazo that is ren- 
dered " snatched away "; and in three Lexicons I 
do not find to " catch up " among its meanings. 
In Ac. viii, 39, it is properly rendered " caught 
away," and in John vi, 1 5, " take by force." Paul's 
words accurately translated would be " snatched 
away to a third heaven," " snatched away into the 
paradise." Peter speaks of three heavens as con- 
secutively pertaining to earth — (1) those which 
" were of old ;" (2) those " which are now;" and (3) 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 141 

the future or " new heavens and earth wherein 
dwelleth righteousness." — 2 Peter iii, 5, 7, 13. 
And that future heaven, when fully revealed, 
especially in the endless bliss beyond the Millen- 
nium, will be " a third heaven " or " the paradise " 
restored and far eclipsing the lost paradise. I 
suppose Paul meant that he had been favored pro- 
phetically with transporting and rapturous " vis- 
ions and revelations" (ver. 1) of that future para- 
dise, which it was not yet allowable to utter; some- 
what a« John was told to " seal up " what the 
seven thunders uttered. — Rev. x, 4. And that as 
to the manner of receiving them, he did not know 
whether those visions were communicated to him 
corporeally, or, as John says, "in the spirit." 
Rev. xxi, 10. 

When he says, " Whilst we are at home in the 
body we are absent from the Lord," he does not 
mean that if in the resurrection body he would be 
absent from the Lord, for he declares that to be 
the very time when we shall be " ever with the 
Lord." — 1 Thes. iv, 16. He was willing to be 
" absent from the body," but not by being " un- 
clothed " (for he, and Hezekiah before him, had 
already objected to that), but rather by being 
" clothed upon " by that eternal house — the resur- 
rection body — and in that way be absent from 
"this vile body." This is not the disembodied ab- 
sence of which Plato and Socrates philosophized, 
and of which a certain class of moderns profess to 



142 IMMORTALITY ; 

be so desirous. — 2 Cor. v, 4, 8 : Isa. xxxviii, 1 1 , 
14. Paul clearly indicated that he did not desire 
to be unclothed, and we should not so misconstrue 
his " desire to depart and be with Christ " as to 
make him contradict himself. This verb " to de- 
part" is analuo (whence came the English 
" analyze "), and in Lu. xii, 36, is translated " re- 
turn." But in Phil, i, 23, it is the infinitive with 
the article, and the celebrated Greek grammar of 
Kuhner says, " The infinitive with the article is 
treated in all respects like a substantive." Why 
then might we not understand Paul as here ex- 
pressing his desire for the return of Christ ? But 
the words are plain enough as they stand, when 
we remember that the dead are asleep and they 
"know not anything"; hence, as they cannot count 
the flight of years, the moment of death seems to 
them to be the moment of being with Christ, in 
the resurrection morning ; as though on a bed of 
pain, with weeping friends arouud them, they had 
closed their eyes for an imperceptible moment, and 
suddenly, with a start and a thrill awoke to the 
glories of the resurrection morning to find the 
great Redeemer here, and bright angels crowding 
into the room. 

There is no mystery about the souls under the 
altar (Rev. vi, 9,) when you remember that the 
death of a martyr was compared to offering a sac- 
rifice on an altar. Thus Paul says, "Even if I 
am poured out on the sacrifice and ministration of 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 143 

your faith, I rejoice." — A. B. U. version of Phil, 
ii, 17. And when about to be put to death by 
Xero, he said, "I am now ready to be offered." — 
2 Tim, iv, 6. Concerning the aged Poly carp who 
suffered martyrdom about A.D. 160, his biographer 
says, that " Placing his hands behind him, and 
being bound like a distinguished ram out of a 
great flock for sacrifice, and prepared to be an ac- 
ceptable burnt offering unto God," he gave thanks 
and prayed that he might be an " acceptable sacri- 
fice.'' 7 The ancient literal altar of burnt offering 
was made " hollow with boards," overlaid with 
brass, hence called the brazen altar. When the 
flesh of the sacrifice was offered on this altar the 
blood was poured out "at the bottom" of it. — Ex. 
xxvii, 8 ; Lev. iv, 30. Hence, the blood when thus 
poured out and saturating the earth, would be 
"under the altar."* And notice particularly that 
the Greek version of Lev. xvii, 14, says, "The 
life (Greek psuche, soul) of all flesh is the blood 
thereof" — psuche pases sarkos haima autou esti. 
We may therefore, by metonomy, speak of the 
blood of the martyr under the altar, as the soul 
of the martyr crying " How long ? "Thus AbePs 
blood cried from the ground unto God, and if 
that cry had been hieroglyphically represented, 



* "The altar is upon earth, not in heaven." — Adam 
Clarke. "Under the altar of God, that is under the 
earth."— Victorinus, towards the close of the third century. 



144 IMMORTALITY ; 

as under the fifth seal, it might have been de- 
scribed as the voice of the blood of Abel crying 
out and saying, " How long, O Lord, dost 
thou not avenge my blood upon Cain ? " The 
" white robes " were appointed to them by divine 
decree, just as in the present tense it is said, "All 
things are yours." — 1 Cor. iii, 22. 

Whether the discourse concerning the rich man 
and Lazarus (Lu. xvi) be a parable, or whether it 
be a prophecy containing some parabolic expres- 
sions, it would be contrary to common sense and 
the sound rules of interpretation to make it conflict 
with the undoubtedly plain and literal testimonies 
of Scripture. It is well agreed that we must al- 
ways interpret the figurative by the literal and so 
as to harmonize with the literal. It would never 
do to reverse this rule. Hence after reading so 
many literal testimonies that the dead are uncou- 
scious till the resurrection, we may not expect the 
rich man and Lazarus to teach anything to the 
contrary. To turn every word of this discourse 
into a literal history of a disembodied state would 
require the literal Moses and the literal prophets, 
all in a disembodied state ; and the " five brethren," 
though still in the body, would have to hear those 
instructors personally, instead of hearing their 
writings. And, as some one has said, what a vast 
" bosom " too Abraham w r ould have, to literally 
hold all the righteous who have died since his time! 
The discourse therefore contains figures of speech, 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 145 

as all must admit. It does not once mention 
"soul" or ''spirit," but points to bodily existence, 
as the eyes, finger, water, tongue, and flame indi- 
cate.* The reason given why there could be no 
passing between the two places indicates the same — 
" between us and you there is a great gulf (Greek 
chasma) fixed." Would a gulf or chasm be any 
obstacle to an immaterial and disembodied soul ? 
And is it to be supposed that such souls in heaven 
and hell do literally see and converse with one 
another, the one class bpgging for mercy, and the 
other refusing it? for "you" (humon) is as truly 
plural here as " us," which indicates that the rich 
man was but one of a class or company spoken to. 
It might be thought a parable, in which, to show 
the importance of hearing Moses and the prophets, 
lifeless persons or things are personified after the 
example of the trees going forth to anoint a king 
(Judg.ix,8); or Abel's blood crying from the ground 
(Gen. iv, 10) ; or the stone crying out of the wall, 
and the beam of the timber answering it (Hab. ii, 
11); or Rachel weeping for her children, and 
refusing to be comforted. — Mat. ii, 18. f I call 



* " The very circumstance of the torturing flames, implies, 
literally the presence of the body ; and therefore cannot be 
literally true of a state in which the soul is separate from 
the body." — Archbishop Whately, Future State, p. 59. 

f " She is figuratively represented as rising from her tomb 
and uttering a double lament for the loss of her children." 
— Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett and Brown. 

7 



1 46 IMMORTALITY ; 

the latter an instance of personification because if 
Rachel was unconscious in death she knew nothing 
of the mas-acre, but if alive in heaven she was 
beyond weeping and -sorrow. In at least two of 
these personifications " holy men of God spake as 
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.'" — 2 Pet, i, 
21. And the Father himself personifies the blood 
of Abel . Why then might not the Son use the same 
figure of speech with regard to the rich man and 
Lazarus? But I am inclined to view it as a pro- 
pheoy, calling "those things which be not as though 
they were" (Rom. iv, 17), and pointing to Jewish 
affairs at the second advent of the Messiah. And 
of course those who first heard it did not know 
how near that advent might be, nor but what it 
might occur in their own life time. Nor do those 
Jews now living know but what it may occur in 
their lifetime. Ever since it was first spoken there- 
fore it has been a warning to that people (whether 
they will heed it or not) on the importance of hear- 
ing Moses and the prophets. Three things cause 
me to think it relates to " Israel after the flesh: 
1st, The rich man though in torment calls Abra- 
ham father, and Abraham calls him son ; which 
seems to intimate only the natural relationship, for 
what other could be appropriate ? I do not 
see why these terms of relationship should be used 
concerning an unconverted or apostate Gentile ; 2d, 
There are five brethren, the Rich man making 
six — exactly the number of Abraham's sons by 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED 147 

Keturah, all "born after the flesh/' — Gen. xxv, 1, 
2; 3d, No Scriptures are mentioned but "Moses 
and the prophets," the natural Israel refusing to 
hear the New Testament writers, even to this day. 
About the time of the second advent there will 
be a considerable number of Jews in Palestine 
having " silver and gold, cattle and goods." — Eze. 
xxxviii, 8-13. These, I suppose, like the wealthy 
and covetous Pharisees of old, will claim the right 
to "sit in Moses' seat" (Mat. xxiii, 2,) and to 
domineer politically and ecclesiastically over " the 
poor of the flock," then present among them ; for 
" the poor ye have always with you." — Zee. xi, 11 ; 
Deut. xv, 11 ; Mat. xxvi, 11. Now if the latter 
class be " Lazarus," the former would be " the rich 
man," one being put for a multitude; just as we 
now say " the rich man " or " the poor man," mean- N 
ing two classes of men. Now remember that not 
all the Jews living at the time of Messiah's coming 
will be converted and saved, for there will be a 
rebellious class which the Lord will " purge out 
from among them." — Eze. xx, 38 ; Zee. xiii, 8. 
And of what class will the remnant be composed ? 
I think we have the answer here, " I will also leave 
in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, 
and they shall trust in the name of the Lord." — 
Zeph. iii, 12. And this, it seems to me, identifies 
that spared remnant with the Lazarus of Lu. xvi. 
But why then is Lazarus said to die? My answer 
is that the verb "died" (apothnesko), which is 



148 IMMORTALITY ; 

applied to him and the rich man, does not always 
imply a literal death ; for, according to Greenfield, 
one if its meanings is, "to die to anything i. e« 
renounce, refuse submission to." The very same 
word is used by Paul to express his conversion — 
" For I through law died to law, that I might live 
to God." — Gal. ii, 19 — American Bible Union's 
version. Why then might not the same word apply 
to the conversion of Paul's modern brethren (of 
which his own conversion seems to have been " a 
pattern"; 1 Tim. i, 16,) when, beholding Him 
" whom they have pierced," they shall welcome 
Him with shouts of " Blessed is He that cometh 
in the name of the Lord ?" — Mat. xxiii, 39. And 
being converted to the Messiah at His coming, and 
having thus " died " to the Mosaic law they will 
in this way be carried into terms of friendship 
with, or, as it were into " the bosom of Abraham," 
who, in a resurrected and immortal state, will then 
be dwelling on the land long ago covenanted to him. 
But "the rich man," what will become of his class? 
If this class be the rebellious portion of that nation, 
or " the fat and the strong," the Lord says, " I will 
destroy the fat and the strong, I will feed them with 
judgment." — Eze. xxxiv, 16. They will, in the 
first place, experience a political and ecclesiastical 
death in being deprived of place and power 
debarred from Messianic blessings, and driven to 
the place of their final destruction. Now if the 
prodigal son in the strange land was "dead " (Lu. 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 149 

xv, 24), why might not these excommunicated and 
death-sentenced exiles be spoken of as both dead 
and buried ? Then if while " tormented " in "the 
fiery indignation" that will soon reduce them to 
ashes, they lift up their eyes and ''see Abraham 
in the kingdom of God" (Lu. xiii, 28), he will 
send no relief because there will be some impassa- 
ble chasm between them and the Lazarns class; for 
the latter, though converted, will still be in the 
mortal body. But at this crisis I suppose the ten 
tribes will be still in their dispersion, for "the tents 
of Judah " are to be saved first. — Zee. xii, 7. If 
then the tormented class desire the Lazarus class 
to be sent off on a mission to those tribes — the 
balance of their "father's house" — the answer 
might be, "If they hear not Moses and the pro- 
phets, neither will they be persuaded, though one 
rose from the dead." The sin of the Jews was and 
is the not believing Moses and the prophets. The 
Saviour said, " Had ye believed Moses ye would 
have believed me, for he wrote of me." — Jno. v, 
46.* A vail of blindness is upon their heart in 



* Among many other proofs which ought to convince them 
of his being the true Messiah, and that He has once been on 
earth, may be named the following prophecies long ago ful- 
filled in him : lie was to be born of a virgin — Gen. iii, 15; 
Isa. vii, 14; — Of the family of David — Psa. exxxii, 11; Isa. 
xi, 1, and Jer. xxiii, 5; — In the town of Bethlehem — Mic. 
v, 2 ; — Was to suffer death by violent hands — Psa. xxii, 13- 
18 ; — Was to be buried — Isa. liii, 9 ; — But would rise again 



150 IMMORTALITY ; 

reading Moses, but a time shall come when " the 
vail shall be taken away." — 2 Cor. iii, 15,16; 
Rom. xi, 7, 25. But why would the sending of 
the Lazarus class be as the sending of one " from 
the dead ?" Because the conversion or " receiving " 
of them had been as "life from the dead."— Rom. 
xi, 15. And thus I have briefly sketched what 
seems to me a very probable interpretation of the 
rich man and Lazarus. 

The mistaken idea that every man has innate 
and unconditional immortality is a foundation on 
which are built the following errors : 1, Metem- 
psychosis, or the transmigration of souls into the 
bodies of beasts, birds or fishes. Edwards' Ency- 
clopedia says this doctrine " prevails at the present 
day almost universally among the heathen nations 
of the East ;" 2, Praying to the dead ; 3, Purga- 
tory ; 4, Swedenborgianism ; 5, The so-called 
"Spiritualism"; 6, Denial of the literal and 
bodily resurrection, affirming that the body is only 
a prison and that the soul can get along well enough 
without it; 7, Depreciating the importance of the 

before seeing corruption — Psa. xvi, 10. And even the time 
in which He would appear and die, and the destruction of 
the city and temple that would follow, were specified; which 
time, "seventy weeks," i.e. 490 years in prophetic style, has 
long since passed, and the city and temple have long ago been 
destroyed. — Dan. ix, 24-26. But neither do they heed those 
prophets nor Moses himself, who warned them that if they 
would not hear the Messiah they would be destioyed. — Ac. 
iii, 22, 23. 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 151 

second advent and the resurrection, and affirming 
that we are rewarded at death, in a disembodied 
state ; 8, Depreciating the importance of the prom- 
ised inheritance which the righteous will obtain in 
the kingdom that God will establish on earth; and 
affirming that as soon as they die they go to an 
inheritance beyond the skies; 9, Depreciating the 
merits of Christ through whom alone and by whose 
death we can obtain everlasting life, and affirm- 
ing that we obtained it through Adam and by our 
natural birth ; 10, Denial of a literal fire as the 
instrument of future punishment. [I suppose this 
is done because they cannot see how a material fire 
could hurt an "immaterial soul"}; 11, Endless 
existence in a state of torture and blasphemy. This 
however has been found so thought-withering that 
some have endeavored to soften it by advocating, 12, 
The salvation of unconverted heathen idolaters; 13, 
The salvation of every sincere errorist; 14, Univer- 
sal salvation. 

Briefly stated, the following is the Scriptural 
doctrine concerning immortality, and it is a 
misunderstanding of some texts which causes them 
to be brought forward as if they conflicted with 
those here quoted. 

1. Jt^^" Immortality (i. e. eternal life) is not 
inherited by nature, and at birth, but is to be 
obtained only through Christ, and by none but the 
righteous. <x ^H Proof: "The gift of God is eter- 
nal life through our Lord Jesus Christ." — Rom. vi, 



152 IMMORTALITY; 

23. "In this was manifested the love of God to- 
ward ns, because that God sent His only begotten 
Son into the world, that we might live through 
Him." — 1 Jno. iv, 9. " This life is in His Son." 
Denying this would be denying "the record that 
God gave of His Son." — 1 Jno. v, 10, 11. Hence 
He is called "our life" and " the way, the truth, 
and the life." — Col. iii, 4: Jno. xiv, 6. And that 
gift of eternal life is for none but a certain and 
specified class — " Thou hast given Him power over 
all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as 

MANY AS THOU HAST GIVEN HIM." — Jno. xvii, 

2. Hence He does not say that Adam transmitted 
to them eternal life, but " /give unto them eternal 
life, and they shall never perish/' — Jno. x, 28. 
" God so loved the world that He gave His only 
begotten Son, that whosoever belie vet h in Him 
should not perish but have everlasting life." — Juo. 
iii, 16. The belief of this great truth enables us 
to properly and highly appreciate the great atone- 
ment and the precious blood poured out on the 
cross for us. It extols the sufferings and the divine 
love of our Saviour; and helps us to "give unto 
the Lord the glory due unto His name," as our 
Life-giver. — Psa. xcvi, 8. But it humbles the 
carnal pride of man by showing him that "we all 
do fade as a leaf" and that none of us are by nature 
immortal. 

2. We have not yet obtained immortality, but it 
is a matter of promise, hope, and reward; and will 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 153 

1)0 given to none but those who properly "seek 
for" it. Proof: "This is the promise that He 
hath promised us even eternal life." — 1 Jno. ii, 25. 
"In hope of eternal life . . . That being justified 
by His grace, we should be made heirs, according 
to the hope of eternal life." — Titus i, 2 ; iii, 7. 
" If thou wilt enter into life keen the command- 
ments. 1 ' —Mat. xix, 17. "They that have done 
good shall come forth unto the resurrection of 
life." — Jno. v, 29. " To them who by patient 
continuance in well doing SP^EK FOR glory, 
honor and immortality/' He will render eternal 
life. — Rom. ii, 7. " As righteousness tendeth to 
life, so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own 
death."— Prov. xi, 19: viii, 35, 36. 

3. It is to be obtained in the resurrection, at the 
personal coming of Christ. Proof: " They that 
have done good shall come forth to the resurrection 
of life." — Jno. v, 29. Many that shall sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting 
life. — Dan. xii, 2. When " the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven " and the dead in Christ shall 
rise, "this mortal shall put on immortality." — 1 
Thess. iv, 16 : 1 Cor. xv, 42, 54. 

Remember the terms on which that everlasting 
lite is to be obtained. You must believe in the 
Son of God. This means, as proved in the second 
discourse, a belief of the message, testimony or 
doctrine which He preached. It is a mistake to 
suppose that you truly believe in Him so long as 



154 IMMORTALITY ; 

you refuse to believe His word or doctrine. The 
vague notion that believing in the Son is some- 
thing less than believing the Son, is a dangerous 
and delusive piece of sophistry. If any such 
quibble be raised about believing in the Son (ver, 
16), John settles it in ver. 33 by showing the es- 
sentiality of believing the Son's testimony ; and in 
v. 36 by saying, " He that believeth not the Son 
(no ' in ' here) shall not see life; but the wrath of 
God abideth on him."— John iii, 33, 36. And so 
Paul, in a sublime sentence of three words, says, 
" I believe God," i. e. he believed what God had 
said. — Ac. xxvii, 25. Thus, too, " Abraham be- 
lieved God," i. e. believed the promises which God 
had made to him. — Gal. iii, 6 : Rom. iv, 21. And 
so in order to obtain eternal life you must be able 
to say, "I believe Jesus," i. e. believe the words 
that He preached — the gospel of the king- 
dom. And will you not commence now to seek 
for that immortality which the Redeemer died to 
purchase for you? If you had the wealth of 
Stewart, the power of the Czar of Russia, the 
strength of Samson, the wisdom of Solomon, and 
the long life of Methusaleh, but should come short 
of eternal life at last, your life would be a misera- 
ble failure, and you had better never have been 
born. But however humble your lot may now be, 
if you succeed in obtaining eternal life at the 
resurrection you will be unspeakably blest. You 
may regret having begun too late to seek for it, but 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 155 

surely you will never regret having begun too soon. 
Did you ever hear one on a death -bed regret hav- 
ing led a long and holy Christian life? O then, 
1 beseech you, do not any longer " neglect so great 
salvation/' 

Look at three scenes in the sinner's career. 1. 
See him attentively and respectfully listening to 
the gospel of the kingdom, as its exceeding great 
and precious promises are explained concerning 
the coming of Christ, the establishing of that 
kingdom on earth, and the everlasting joys which 
the redeemed will then obtain therein. He lis- 
tens to the invitations exhorting him to believe, 
be baptized, and lead a holy life, that he may be 
saved when that kingdom comes. Perhaps tears 
gather in his eyes as he listens, and he is almost 
persuaded to be a Christian ; but, with a great 
struggle, he hardens his heart, resists the good in- 
fluence, and, when the assembly is dissolved, he 
goes away sorrowful, because the love of sin has 
a deadly hold upon him. 

2. Some time has passed ; the scene is changed. 
Behold him prostrate on a bed of pain, groaning 
in the agonies of death ; and oh ! sad thought ! he 
is dying in his sins. A young man, himself a 
sinner, having waited at the bedside of such a per- 
son, whose agony was too horrible to witness, de- 
clared to me at the breakfast table next morning, 
" I never want to see another sinner die." Yes, 
behold the sinner dying with no comfort in his 



U6 



IMMORTALITY ', 



last hour, but only "a fearful looking for of the 
fiery indignation which shall devour the adver- 
sary." 

3. See him in the resurrection, summoned from 
the grave and hurried before the great white 
tin-one of judgment. Pale and trembling, he 
stands to hear the awful sentence, and all in a 
moment his features appear to be pinched and 
shrunken, and I seem to hear some, standing by, 
say, "How soon is the fruitless tree withered 
away !" Then hear that haunting scream — his 
last, long, unearthly shriek of woe as he is cast 
headlong into the consuming billows of the " lake 
of fire." 

But look at three scenes in the Christian's ca- 
reer. 1. Having confessed his belief of "the 
things concerning the kingdom of God and the 
name of Jesus Christ " (which tilings compose the 
gospel of the kingdom — Ac. viii, 12), and having 
been baptized for the remission of sins, he comes 
up out of the water enabled henceforth to rejoice 
in hope of the glory of God. 

2. And when he comes to die, see the weeping 
friends around his bed ; but on his own counte- 
nance is the mark of inward peace, for he knows 
that underneath are the everlasting arms, and he 
can say, " Though I walk through the valley of 
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou 
art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort 



HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED. 157 

me." — Psa. xxiii. And so he passes quietly away 
like the summer wave upon the shore. 

3. At last behold him in the resurrection morn ; 
he stands among the shining ranks and sings the 
glad redemption song. He and all that host in 
bright array have come out of great tribulation, 
and have washed their robes and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb. And so " they shall 
hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For 
the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall 
feed them, and shall lead them unto living foun- 
tains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes." — Rev. vii, 14-17. 



SEVENTH DISCOURSE. 



THE SUBJECTS, NATURE, DESIGN, AND IMPORT- 
ANCE OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 

■" He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." — 

Mark xvi, 15, 16. 

1. The subjects. From what the Bible says of 
households, an effort has been made to prove that 
infants are proper subjects of this ordinance. But 
of the three household baptisms brought forward 
to prove this we have evidence that two at least 
were believing households ; for the jailor " re- 



158 



THE SUBJECTS, &C, OF 



joiced, believing in God with all his house "; and 
the household of Stephanas " addicted themselves 
to the ministry of the saints." — Ac. xvi, 32, 34: 
1 Cor. i, 16: xvi, 15. To prove that Lydia's 
household contained an infant we should have to 
take four things for granted which the Scripture 
is silent upon — that she was a married woman ; 
that she had at least one child ; that it was an 
infant; that it was with her at Philippi, and not 
at her home, which seems to have been in Thya- 
tira, about 200 miles away. If an household may 
be spoken of as "believing." although containing 
an unbelieving infant, why may it not by the same 
license of speech be spoken of as u baptized," al- 
though containing an un baptized infant? Many 
things can be said of a family or household to the 
exclusion of its infants; as, when we speak of 
" family prayer," no one imagines that the little 
infant in the cradle engages in it. "The man 
Elkanah and all his house" went to Shiloh to 
offer sacrifice, but the infant of the house was left 
at home with its mother. — 1 Sam. i, 21, 22. " All 
the city was moved, saying, Who is this?" But 
although the city must have contained many house- 
holds with infants, you would not suppose that 
every one of them stood up in its mother's lap 
and said, " Who is this ?"— Mat. xxi, 10. " He 
that cometh to God must believe " (Heb. xi, 6), 
but infants cannot come to Him in that sense, being 
not yet capable of believing ; and hence I 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 150 



ordinary or local sense of motion towards a person 
in whose presence you may be standing, when He 
said "Suffer the little children to come unto me." 
It is not said that He baptized them, but took 
them up and " blessed them." — Mark x, 16. It 
was towards the close of His ministry, and if He 
and John had for years been in the habit of bap- 
tizing infants, would not the disciples have rather 
encouraged than rebuked the parents for bringing 
their children ? Certainly the officers of a modern 
infant-sprinkling church would feel it their duty 
to encourage them. If they had been brought for 
baptizing I think the Saviour would have said, 
" Carry them to my disciples," instead of " Suffer 
them to come unto me" for "Jesus himself bap- 
tized not" His disciples did that. — John iv, 2. 
So this incident serves rather to refute than prove 
infant baptism. All Christians are the children of 
Abraham (his multitudinous "seed"), but the 
new principle on which they are made his chil- 
dren, in the true and gospel sense, is faith followed 
by baptism ; not mere natural birth, for " they 
which are of faith, the same are the children of 
Abraham. . . As many of you as have been bap- 
tized into Christ have put on Christ. . , and if ye 
be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." — Gal. iii, 7, 27, 29. A 
Gentile infant is therefore neither a child of Abra- 
ham by natural birth nor by the process of adop- 



.160 



THE SUBJECTS, &C, OP 



tion just described. If deceased infants are to be 
saved when the Lord conies, and I truly hope they 
will ; if it be His good pleasure, I say amen to it 
with all my heart. They will not be saved, how- 
ever, by a present exercise of faith, for they arc 
incapable of believing. If saved, then, I suppose 
it will be through the same abounding merits of 
the atonement, as the inanimate earth itself will 
be regenerated, and, as it were, resurrected into 
eternal glory and beauty. But the gospel and its 
ordinances are for those who have arrived at years 
of accountability , which means ability to give ac- 
count ; and unless all such persons believe and 
obey that gospel they will have to suffer the pen- 
alties. If baptism is for infants, why not the 
Lord's supper also? Was not that feast given for 
all the members of the Church when the Master 
said, " This do in remembrance of me. . . Drink 
all ye of it" ? The "all" means all the mem- 
bers, not the wine ; accordingly Mark says, " They 
all drank of it."— Mat. xxvi, 27 : Mark xiv, 23 : 
Lu. xxii, 19. 

We have neither command nor example for 
infant sprinkling. Indeed the commission forbids 
it by requiring two kinds of teaching, one before 
and one after baptism, which would of course be 
impracticable in baptizing infants. Here is the 
language of the commission — " Go ye therefore 
and teach (mathetueo) all nations, baptizing them 
into (eis) the name of the Father, and of the Son, 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 161 

and of the Holy Spirit, teaching (didasho) them 
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you." — Matt, xxviii, 19, 20. * This commission 
is obeyed by none but those who give the two 
kinds of instruction — before baptism, the gospel 
of the kingdom; and after baptism "all things" 
that pertain to the duties of a Christian life. 
Matthew's record is confirmed in Mark's, " He 
that believeth and is baptized," not he that is first 
baptized and afterwards believeth, if he should live 
long enough. 

And as the commands of Scripture are opposed 
to infant sprinkling, so are its examples. It tells 
us that "both mm and ivomen" were baptized, 
not men, women and infants. — Ac. viii, 12. They 
were capable of " confessing their sins," which in- 
fants are not. — Mat. iii, 12. They " gladly 
received the word" before baptism. — Acts ii, 41. 
" Many Corinthians hearing, believed, and were 
baptized." — Ac. xviii, 8. Here are the three steps 
exactly expressed "after the due order ": (1st) 
hearing; (2nd) belief; (3rd) baptism. And Paul 
afterwards charged the same church to keep the 
ordinances "as" he delivered them. — 1 Cor. xi, 2. 



*"Two words in this pas-age are translated teach and 
teaching, but are of different meaning. The former means 
the general instruction necessary to bring men to profess 
themselves disciples of Christ ; the other relates to their sub- 
sequent instruction in all the various parts of Christianity." 
— Scott, the celebrated Episcopal Commentator. 



162 THE SUBJECTS, &C, OF 

Uzzah, no doubt, meant well, but his act was 
not " after the due order," and so he was not ex- 
cused for ignorance or sincerity, but smitten dead ; 
which things are " for our admonition." — 1 Chron. 
xiii, 10; xv, 12-15 ; 1 Cor. x, 11. I hope I have 
now said enough on this bramh of the subject to 
convince all with whom Holy Scripture has more 
weight than human tradition. 

2. The nature of baptism. We prove baptism 
to be immersion by three lines of argument : — 1st, 
The lexical definition of the Greek verb baptizo; 
2nd, The symbols under which it is illustrated; 
3d, The literal phrases used in describing the act. 
Greenfield's Lexicon says it means " to immerse, 
itnmerge, submurge;" Liddell and Scott's, "to dip 
under, to bathe." It is a significant fact that al- 
though it occurs about eighty times in the Greek 
New Testament the translators have not once dared 
to render it "sprinkle" or " pour." And in the 
Old Testament where the Greek version has bap- 
tizo the translators have "dipped"; "Then went 
he down and dipped (baptizo) himself seven times 
in Jordan." — 2 Kin. v, 14. Though some talk 
as if pouring, dipping and sprinkling were the 
same in a ceremonial way, yet the Bible carefully 
discriminates between them thus, " The priest 
shall take some of the log of oil, and pour (cheo) 
it into the palm of his own left hand. And 
the priest shall dip (bapto) his right finger in the 
oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 163 

(raino)of the oil with his finger seven times before 
the Lord." — Lev, xiv, 15, 16. Carson, renowned 
for his work on baptism, says, " Some have alleged 
that the termination zo makes baptizo a diminutive; 
but utterly without countenance from the practice 
of the language. Others have erred as far on the 
other side, and equally without authority make 
baptizo a frequentative."* But the symbols in 
which the act of baptism is pictured to us give it 
a fixedness of meaning by showing that it cannot 
mean less than immersion, nor more than one 
immersion. 

Burial, resurrection, planting, and birth are four 
symbols which teach immersion so plainly as to 
render comment nearly superfluous. " We are 
buried with Him by baptism." — Rom. vi, 4.f On 



* Oswald's Etyni. Diet, shows that " ize or ise denotes to 
make, to give ; " as, civil -ize, to make civil ; character-tze to give 
a character ; author-rze, to give, authority ; apolog-ize, to give 
an apology ; harmon-we, to give harmony. Hence as bapt-tsm 
means an immersion or dipping, bapt-ize would mean to give 
an immersion or dipping. "Frequentative and Intensive 
verbs," according to Kuhner's Greek Grammar, are such as 
end in azo, not izo. 

f "Alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immer- 
sion." — Jno. Wesley. " This passage cannot be understood 
unless it be borne in mind that the primitive baptism was 
by immersion." — Conybeare & Howson. " This immersion 
being religiously observed by all Christians for thirteen cen- 
turies. . . it were to be wished that this custom might be 
again of general use.' ' — Whitby. And yet all these writers 
practised sprinkling ! 



164 THE SUBJECTS, &C, OF 

land we bury a body by putting it under the 
ground, at sea by putting it under the water ; never 
by merely sprinkling a few particles of dust or 
water upon it. The burial of a person is an open 
attestation to friends and foes that such an one is 
dead to the life which was formerly led. So in 
the baptismal burial we throw a great mountain 
across the path we have come, leaving no way open 
for turning back or " looking back " for we are 
determined henceforth to " press forward." Thus 
we show to sinners whom we leave, and to Chris- 
tians whom we join that we are "dead to sin " and 
should not and would not " live any longer ( herein." 
Sin itself is personified to Christians as an " old 
man " who has been " destroyed, that henceforth 
we should not serve sin " or be in bondage to him; 
for when a master is dead his servant no longer 
owes him any service. And this freedom is doubly 
secure for not only is the master dead to the ser- 
vant, but the servant to the master, and "he (the 
servant) that d^'d is freed from sin " or as Paul 
elsewhere says, " The world is crucified unto me, 
and I unto the world." — Rom. vi, 6, 7; Gal. vi, 
14. Burial is a solemn thing;; so also is baptism; 
but instead of the tears of sorrow at a grave we 
often see tears of joy at a baptism. 

" Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye 
are men with Him." — Col. li, 12. Rising "out 
of the water " to walk in newness of life is a beauti- 
ful emblem of coming forth from the grave at the 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 165 

resurrection to walk in endless life and glory in the 
kingdom of God. As in baptism we " wash away " 
our sins and "put on Christ," so "in the the resur- 
rection at the last day" we are freed from "this 
vile body " and are " clothed upon w with the 
shining and spotless robe of immortality. As one 
raised from the dead and exulting in all the holy 
joys of a blissful immortality will not desire to 
return to the former mortal fallible and suffering 
life, so neither should one raised from the baptismal 
grave desire to return to his former habits of 
worldliness and sin. By the baptismal act we show 
our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of 
Christ, and in His power to raise us from the dead, 
for He says, " Because I live ye shall live also." 
Will there be joy unspeakable as the glorified re- 
deemed clasp hands in the resurrection ? I have 
witnessed what seemed to me a foretaste of such 
joy when believers of the gospel of the kingdom 
have come up out of the baptismal wave. Often 
have I beheld, on such occasions, an overflowing 
joy that could find no expression but in tears. 
How impressive the solemn scene ! Worldlings are 
encouraged to follow the holy example, and Chris- 
tians reminded of the day of their own espousals 
when they went after the Saviour, as in the wilder- 
ness ; and they are led to think of their own solemn 
engagements, and in what manner they have been 
fulfilled. 

"Planted together in the likeness of His death." 



166 THE SUBJECTS, &C, OF 

— Rom. vi, 5. As a seed is covered up in the 
earth when planted in the ground, and afterwards 
springs forth to bloom and blossom into beauty, 
fragrance and fruitful ness, even so the believer is 
covered up in the baptismal wave, and emerges 
"a new creature," to " worship the Lord in the 
beauties of holiness," to shed forth the fragrance of 
Christian life, and, as a good tree, to become "filled 
with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus 
Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." 

"Born of water." — Jno. iii, 5. As when born 
of the flesh we enter the world, so when believers 
of the gospel of the kingdom are born of water 
they enter the church "as newborn babes " who 
afterwards " grow in grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This is not 
the only text in which natural birth is made a 
symbol of baptism, for the same is done in calling 
it "the washing of regeneration," i. e. of the "new 
birth," (as paliggenesia denotes); and in those texts 
which represent persons just baptized as " new 
creatures" or "newborn babes." — Titus iii, 5. In 
the phrases "born of the flesh" and born of wa- 
ter," the preposition is ek, which means "out of," 
and is so translated in Ac. viii, 39. How then can 
a man be born of water without first being in the 
water? This proves the necessity of immersion 
too plainly to need further comment.* It is not 

* By the act of being once born an infant is ushered into 
a family relationship to all of its kindred. It is not born a 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 1(57 

said "born of the Spirit and of water," but the 
water is put first. A believer is born of water at 
baptism, and afterwards born of the Spirit when 
by it "his mortal body" is quickened and brought 
forth ("born from the dead") at the resurrection. 
Col. i, 18; Rom: viii, 11. Such a body, though 
substantial, may be called "spirit" as to its nature, 
because it is no longer "a natural body" but "a 
spiritual body" physically " partaking of the divine 
nature,' and is fashioned like unto the glorious 
body of the risen Saviour who is called " a quick- 
ening Spirit" (1 Cor. xv, 45), although he had a 
substantial and tangible body in which could be 
felt the prints of the nails that pierced His hands 
on the cross. Thus the birth of water at baptism 
and the birth of the Spirit at the resurrection may 
be called the great law of naturalization necessary 

separate time for each name in the family. And so in the 
one act of emerging from the water we are brought into a 
holy relationship to the three names Father, Son, and Spirit. 
Yes, in that one birth we even become related, in some de- 
gree to the whole family of redeemed, those who preceded 
and those who shall come after us. Hence it is plain that 
three dippings would do violence to this and each of the 
other symbols by which divine wisdom has pictured to us 
the grand old ordinance of" one baptism " (i. e. "one immer- 
sion."— A. B. U.) Eph. iv, 5. "The God of Abraham, and 
of Isaac, and of Jacob," does not means a separate God for 
each of those patriarchs; then why violate Scripture by 
saying that immersion into the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, means a separate immersion 
for each of those holy names ? 



168 THE SUBJECTS, &C., OF 

to take place on a man before he can obtain the 
immortal citizenship in the kingdom of God — a 
kingdom which flesh and blood cannot inherit. — 
1 Cor. xv, 50. 

The literal terms used in describing the act of 
baptism also prove it to be immersion. How can 
" having our bodies washed with pure water " mean 
five drops of it sprinkled on the crown of the 
head ? — Heb. x, 22. John baptized "in the river," 
and selected a particular place for it " because there 
was much water there." — Mat. iii, 6 ; Mar: 1,5; 
John iii, 23. If John had offered his hearers their 
choice of three ways, occasionally (after the modern 
fashion) preaching a long tirade against immersion, 
think you that any of his hearers would have been 
immersed ? Would they not all have chosen sprink- 
ling or pouring as more convenient? And then we 
should never have read of their being " in the 
river." Such expressions as " went doivn into the 
water," and " came up out of the water," teach 
immersion too plainly to need comment. — Mar. i, 
10 ; Acts viii, 38, 39. But some silly critic has 
said that " into the water " may mean only at or 
near by the water ! How then about Noah's going 
u into the ark"; does this mean that he only got 
at or near by it, and saw it float off leaving him- 
self and family to perish in the flood? — Gen. vii, 
1. Daniel was cast " into the den of lions" ; does 
that mean that he only went at or near by it, so as 
to get a safe view of them? — Daniel vi, 16-18. 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 169 

Those who do His commandments will enter u into 
the city," would that critic dare to tell us that they 
will only get at or near by it, so as to just faintly 
hear the singing? — Rev. xxii, 14. Those not 
found written in the book of life will be " cast into 
the lake of fire," and does this mean only at or 
near by it, so as to merely be comfortably warm ? 
It is the same preposition, eis, in the Greek of all 
these places. Has that preposition strength enough 
to take one into the consuming lake of fire but not 
enough to take him into the delightful waters of 
baptism ? I hope I will be excused for answering 
that silly critic as I have done, for it seems to me 
that his extremely absurd criticism deserves only 
to be " fried in its own gravy," as the saying is. 
In a careless manner some say that a drop of water 
is as good as an ocean ; but they would not say so 
if they wanted to quench a parching thirst. Hagar 
and her son wandered thirsty in the wilderness, and 
as she laid him down to die, and turned away and 
wept, the Lord showed her a whole well of water; 
one drop would not have saved those two lives. 
As in the Lord's supper, there must be enough 
bread and wine to constitute eating and drinking, 
so in baptism there must be at least enough water 
to constitute immersion. If immersion is right it 
ought not to be preached against, and if wrong it 
ought not to be practiced ; but some preachers do 
bothy for after a long sermon against it they have 
gone to the water and immersed people! There 
8 



170 THE SUBJECTS, &C, OF 

are two parties in the world : one claiming that 
either sprinkling, pouring, or immersion is right ; 
the other that immersion only is right. Thus 
neither party disputes the correctness of immersion. 
In all candor then, does not common prudence 
commend immersion to you as the safest way? 

3. The design of baptism. It is designed to 
change our state or relationship, conducting a be- 
liever " into the name," eis to onoma, of the Fa- 
ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 
Mat. xxviii, 19.* The common version has else- 
where rendered eis, " into/' with reference to this 
ordinance, as " baptized into (eis) one body," — 1 
Cor. xii, 13; "baptized into (eis) Christ," — Gal. 
iii, 27 ; " baptized into (eis) His death," — Rom. 
vi, 3. Bullion's Greek grammar says that eis is 
used to express motion from without to within ; 
and that en is used with the idea of rest or being 
contained within. You were standing without, 
but walked into the house and were seated in the 
house. After Noah went " into (eis) the ark ;" 
he was said to be " in (en) the ark " and all 



* " In the name is a manifest mistranslation, the preposi- 
tion in the original is not en but eis, into or to." — Archbishop 
Whately. "It should have been into (as in Gal. iii, 27). It 
imports an objective admission into the covenant of redemp- 
tion — a putting on of Christ. Baptism is the contract of 
espousal (Ephes. v, 26) between Christ and His church." — 
Alford. "It should be 'into the name' as in 1 Cor. x, 2, 
and Gal. iii. 27." — Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett & Brown. 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 171 

perished except those in the ark. — Gen. vii, 7, 
23. After one believes the gospel of the kingdom 
and is " baptized into Christ " he is declared to be 
in "Christ ; "and " if any man be in Christ he is a 
new creature." And as all in the ark were safe, 
so all in Christ are safe, provided they hold out 
faithful ; for " there is therefore now no condem- 
nation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who 
walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." — Gal. 
ill, 27, 28 ; 2 Cor. v, 17; Rom. viii, 1. Suppose 
as Noah was entering the ark, some strong swim- 
mer had said, "I'm just as good as some of that 
family ; Noah is too exclusive and uncharitable in 
saying that nobody but he and those with him in 
the ark will be saved ; Fll take my chances out- 
side;" would such a course have saved that swim- 
mer ? No, nor will it save the modern scoffer who 
says he is as good as some in the church, refuses to 
be baptized into Christ, and trusts to his self- 
righteousness as the swimmer did to his own 
strength. I have spoken of a change of state or 
relationship. This is more than a mere change of 
the feelings. Let me illustrate this fact. Suppose 
two young ladies, on a very slight acquaintance 
with a young gentleman, have a strong aversion to 
him ; but afterwards, on a hotter acquaintance, 
they both change their minds to such an extent as 
to cherish profound respect and affection for him ; 
and shortly after, one of them, by the ceremony of 
marriage becomes his wife. They both changed 



172 THE SUBJECTS, AC, OF 

their feelings, but only one changed her relation- 
ship to him. Two English gentlemen may be 
great enemies of this government and its princi- 
ples ; but afterwards change their minds, and be- 
come great lovers of it, insomuch that one of them, 
by submitting to the ceremony of naturalization, 
becomes an American citizen. Though both 
changed their feelings, only one changed his rela- 
tionship towards this government, the other re- 
mained an alien still. So the sinner may change 
his feelings concerning religion, and may very 
much admire and love the Christian life, but still 
remains an alien until he submits to the ceremonial 
of being "baptized into Christ." In the act of 
baptism the believer passes from a state of con- 
demnation to a state of pardon, which implies the 
remission of his sins that are past, and his be- 
coming " a new creature." Hence baptism is ex- 
pressly declared to be " for the remission of sins;" 
and Paul was told to "be baptized and wash 
away his sins." jf^g^ If Paul, as the language 
implies, did not get rid of his past sins until bap- 
tism why think to get rid of yours before bap- 
tism? ~fg£H — Ac. ii, 38 ; xxii, 16. " For the re- 
mission of your sins " does not mean " because 
your sins are remitted," any more than a man 
would take medicine for a sickness because he was 
already well of it. When Naaraan had the lep- 
rosy, a type of sin, did he baptize himself in Jor- 
dan for the cure of it because he was already cured, 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 173 

or did he get cured in the act ? Certainly in the 
act of dipping. 

'4. The importance of baptism. The fact that 
it is for the remission of sins proves it essential, 
for you must admit that we cannot be saved with- 
out that remission. The same phrase which de- 
notes the object of baptism denotes the object for 
which the precious blood of Christ was shed — 
" for the remission of sins," eis aphesin hamartidn. 
While this proves the importance of baptism, it 
does not show any conflict, but only a cooperation 
between the blood and the water in the means of 
salvation. It is the blood which gives efficacy to the 
water by divine appointment. " Baptism doth now 
save us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ," which 
includes the shedding of His blood on the cross. 
1 Pet. iii, 21. The breaking of a straw would 
have answered in the place of immersion if the 
Lord had so appointed it. Baptism, important as 
it is, will not save you without faith, repentance 
and holiness of life ; nor would all these combined 
save you but for the atoning blood of Christ, for 
" without shedding of blood is no remission." — 
Heb. ix, 22. Thus every truth, every duty and 
every instrumentality has its proper place in the 
plan of redemption. It is no valid objection to 
say that what I have said about baptism makes 
the salvation of one person depend upon the will- 
ingness of another to baptize him, for if an in- 
stance could occur in which it would be impossible 



174 THE SUBJECTS, &C, OF 

to get any one to baptize him, I am sure that a 
believer might baptize himself, as Naaman did. 
Besides, on the same principle, it might be objected 
that faith makes a man's salvation depend on some 
one else, for " faith cometh by hearing," and " how 
can they hear without a preacher f n — Rom. x, 14, 
17; Heb. xi, 6. Refusing to be baptized is re- 
jecting the counsel of God, like some wicked ones 
of old, and of course no one can be saved who re- 
jects that counsel. — Lu. vii, 30 ; Prov. i, 24-33. 
Its being a divine command is enough to prove it 
essential. Cornelius, though " a devout man, and 
one that feared God with all his house, which gave 
much aim? to the people, and prayed to God 
alway," was "warned from God" to send for 
Peter and hear words whereby he might " be 
saved" And when Peter came he did not excuse 
that devout man from baptism ; how then can you 
expect to be excused ? — A.c. x and xi.* Since it 
was necessary for Cornelius and even for the pure 
and spotless Lamb of God to go down into the 
baptismal waters and come up, all dripping, from 
the waves, it would be utterly preposterous to say 



* " Some in our day would have argued, ' These are bap- 
iized with the Holy Ghost, and therefore what need have 
they to be baptized with water ? It is below them.' No ; 
it is not below them while water baptism is an ordinance of 
Christ." — Matt. Henry. " The baptism of the Spirit did 
not supercede the baptism by water ; nor indeed can it." — 
Adam Claeke. . 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 175 

that it is not necessary for people in these days. 
The fate of many people was once decided by their 
dropping a letter in pronouncing a word. Let 
this warn us not to call baptism a small matter. — 
Judg. xii, 6. " Except a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of 
God." — John iii, 5. Can we need a plainer or 
more solemn assurance of its importance? Why 
is the birth of Spirit essential to an entrance into 
the kingdom ? Because God has ordained it so. 
And why is the birth of water also essential? 
For the same sovereign reason. " Even so, 
Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." 

The mere possibility that the ceremony which 
you do not remember, and which was performed 
on you in infancy, was no baptism, ought to alarm 
you. It is said, I know not how truly, that 
on that fearful night in Egypt when the first- 
born was slain in every house which had no blood 
on the doorpost, a little girl, the first-born of the 
family, was sick ; and in her fever she thought 
that perhaps the blood was not on the doorpost. 
So she asked her father if he was sure it was 
there ; and her father said " Yes, he was sure, for 
he had ordered it to be done." But as it wore on 
towards the solemn hour of midnight, and her 
fever grew no better but rather worse, she said, 
" Father, take me up in your arms and carry me 
to the door, and let me see the blood." And so 
the father took her up and carried her to the door ; 



176 THE SUBJECTS, AC., OF 

and lo and behold ! the blood was not there; the 
man to whom he had given instructions had for- 
gotten to do it ! And then the father, in the sight 
of his daughter, had the blood put upon the door- 
post; and she laid down quiet and contented. 
Can you be satisfied until you have seen your 
baptism? Those who think their having been 
sprinkled in infancy is enough ought to remember- 
that under the Mosaic law grown persons who had 
been both circumcised and sprinkled were required 
to " bathe in water" and for neglecting it a man 
had to " bear his iniquity." — Lev. xvii, 15, 16 ; 
Num. xix, 7, 8, 19. Of how much sorer punish- 
ment shall he be thought worthy who neglects the 
bathing which Christ has commanded? Why 
take it for granted that the penitent thief had 
never been baptized ? Perhaps he was one of the 
vast multitude baptized by John, and " willing for 
a season to rejoice in his light." — John v, 35. 
That he was no ordinary thief is shown by his 
wonderful intelligence in acknowledging the Mes- 
siah, whom so many others had deserted. James 
indicates that such a thing as the restoration of a 
penitent brother is not impossible, by saying, 
" Brethren, if any of you do err," &c. — Jas. 
v, 19, 20. Besides, it seems that the gospel ordi- 
nances were not fully established in place of the 
Mosaic before the death and resurrection of Christ. 
" He taketh away the first that He may establish 
the second." — Heb. x, 9. Beware of undervaluing 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 177 

bodily acts. Was it not a bodily act when Eve 
reached forth her hand and plucked and ate of the 
forbidden fruit, and so brought death into the 
world, and all our woe? Was it not a bodily act 
when Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, was nailed 
to the cross and His body pierced for our sins ? 
Was it not a bodily act when He arose from the 
dead, without which our faith would be vain ? — 
1 Cor. xv, 17. And will not our final redemp- 
tion be a bodily act; ''waiting for the adoption, 
to-wit : the redemption of our body " ? — Romans 
viii, 23: Phil, iii, 21. How infinitely more de- 
lightful to £0 down into the baptismal waters and 
come out again, than to be cast into the lake of fire 
and be consumed into ashesl — Mai. iv, 3 ; Rev. 
xx, 15. Oh, can you hesitate which to choose? 

[From "Songs of Zion." By Wiley Jones.] 

Saviour thy law we love, 

Thy pure example plead ; 
And faith sincere, by works we prove 

When in thy steps we tread. 

Beneath the sacred wave 

The Lord of life was laid ; 
And He who came to bless and save, 

Did not this path evade. 

He taught the solemn way ; 

He fixed the holy rite. 
He bade us that command obey, 

And keep the path of light. 

May ev'ry action show 

Onr rev'rence for thy word ; 
And thus the world around shall know 

We love and serve the Lord. 



178 

EIGHTH DISCOURSE. 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES TO BE OBSERVED 
AND CULTIVATED AFTER BAPTISM. 

"Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to 
virtue knowledge: and to knowledge temperance; and to 
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to 
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness 
charity.'*— 2 Peter i, 5-7. 

To suppose that any man can be saved for general 
correctness of moral character without any reference 
to his faith would be a dreadful mistake. The 
words " add -to your faith " prove that the faith 
must first be had as an essential foundation or 
starting point ; and that all the shining list of 
Christian virtues are things to be added to it. 
Correct faith is as needful as correct conduct. 
(Remember what an excellent man was Cornelius ; 
and yet he had to hear words of doctrine and be 
baptized, in order to place himself in a solvable 
state. — Acts x, 2 ; xi, 14.) The exhortation is 
addressed to those who have obtained like precious 
faith with the apostles ; verse 1 . Having believed 
the gospel of the kingdom, as preached by the 
apostles, and having been baptized, they are now, 
as the commission requires, exhorted to the duties 
which follow baptism. — Mat. xxviii, 19. These 
two features of the commission — giving the one 
kind of instruction before and the other after bap- 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 179 

tism — the apostles constantly observed. Thus 
Peter begins aiid ends this list of virtues by urg- 
ing them upon those who had been baptized. And 
Paul desired Titus to " affirm constantly that they 
which have believed in God might be careful to 
maintain good works." — Titus iii, 8. James too 
has warned his brethren that " faith without ivories 
is dead." — Jas ii, 20. And thus the beloved dis- 
ciple, after assisting in planting many churches, 
when he found himself too old to travel and visit 
them any longer, wrote to them as to his own dear 
children, saying, "I have no greater joy than to 
hear that my children walk in truth." — 3 Jno. 4. 
No wonder it gave John so much joy to hear this, 
for our labor in preaching the gospel is, to a great 
extent, lost unless the converts, after baptism, 
continue to " walk in the truth." We naturally 
feel an interest in the success and prosperity of any 
undertaking on which we have spent much labor 
and care. Congregations which have displayed 
great and worthy zeal to have the gospel of the 
kingdom preached, and sinners converted, should 
show a similar zeal to build up and keep those con - 
verts in their most holy faith, continually exhorting 
them unto love and to good works ; the older 
brethren and sisters especially taking care to live 
so as to set holy examples to the flock. — 1 Pet. v, 
3 ; Titus ii, 7. The Master's words, Ci What do 
ye more than others?" indicate that He requires 
Christians lo be " a peculiar people zealous of good 



180 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

works." They are the conserving and illumina- 
ting element of society — the salt of the earth and 
the light of the world.— Mat. v, 13, 14, 47. "If 
ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples 
indeed." — Jno. viii, 31. He that heareth and 
doeth is likened unto a wise man that built his 
house on a rock ; unto good ground that bringeth 
forth an hundred fold ; unto a fruitful branch of 
a goodly vine. — Mat. vii, 24 ; Lu. viii, 35 ; John 
xiv, 2, 6. But he that doeth not is like a foolish 
man that built his house on the sand ; like thorny 
ground that chokes the seed ; like a withered branch 
that is gathered and burned. Therefore " be ye 
doers of the word, and not hearers only." — Jas. i, 
22. When the seven graces here enjoined, and all 
their kindred virtues are possessed in due propor- 
tion they give to the Christian a beautiful and 
symmetrical character. 

1. Virtue. The gospel found the Gentiles fear- 
fully sunk in vice, as the first chapter of Romans 
proves. Nor were the Jews, under Pharisaic teach- 
ing, free from rebuke in this respect. But Chris- 
tians, to whom Peter was writing, had been " called 
to glory and virtue/' and had "purified their souls in 
obeying the truth."— 2 Pet. i, 3; 1 Pet, i, 22. They 
were tenderly exhorted, " Having therefore these 
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves 
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting 
holiness in the fear of God." — 2 Cor. vii, 1. If 
this word, arete, be translated "fortitude," as some 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 181 

say, it then means that we must not only believe 
the gospel of the kingdom, but have the courage 
to confess it before men ; for if ashamed of the 
Saviour's words (among which were "the glad 
tidings of the kingdom," Lu. viii, 1), He will be 
ashamed of us when He comes in glory. — Lu. ix, 
26. We should be " valiant for the truth " (Jer. 
ix, 3), for "the fearful" are classed among the 
unbelieving and abominable who shall be cast into 
the lake of fire. — Rev. xxi, 8. This condemned 
fear is the fear of man, which "bringeth a snare;" 
not the fear of the Lord, for that " is the beginning 
of wisdom." — Prov. xxix, 25; Psa. cxi, 10. Who 
would not rather burn at the stake for righteous- 
ness than in the lake of fire for sin ? The fear of 
man causes persons to not only neglect religious 
duties, through dread of hurting their fortunes or 
of makiug enemies, but even to abandon the faith. 
Too fond of popularity or too timid, they always 
drift with the current ; reminding one of the say- 
ing that dead fish float down the stream. In 
Turkey they would perhaps be Mohammedans. 
They cannot " dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand 
alone, dare to have a purpose firm and dare to make 
it known." Hie would not be restrained from 
worshipping the true God by the dread of the 
lion's den; nor would His three companions be 
constrained to idolatry by the terrors of a fiery 
furnace. Of holy fortitude, duly combined with 
and tempered by all the other graces, the blessed 



182 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

Saviour's life on earth is a perfect illustration. — 
1 Pet. ii, 21. 

2. Knowledge. Some " being alienated from 
th e life of God through the ignorance that is in 
them," will be " destroyed for lack of knowledge." 
Ephes. iv, 18 ; Hos. iv, 6. This does not mean 
worldly "science," but a knowledge of the Scrip- 
tures, enabling us to understand for ourselves and 
to teach others " what the will of the Lord is." — 
Ephes. v, 17. Such knowledge enables its pos- 
sessor to give a right direction to his fortitude — 
when he strives, it is " to enter in at the straight 
gate ;" when he contends, it is " for the faith once 
delivered to the saints;" when he provokes, it is 
" unto love and to good works." He learns to 
rightly divide the word of truth, comparing Scrip- 
ture with Scripture. He avoids " foolish and un- 
learned questions, and strivings about words to no 
profit but to the subverting of the hearers." He 
is not carried about by every wind of doctrine, nor 
persuaded into the belief of error by the smooth 
words and fair speeches, nor the high-sounding 
titles and arrogant pretensions of men. And with 
all this he is not haughty nor puffed up against 
those brethren who have not made the same attain- 
ments as himself, because any such disposition is 
restrained by his brotherly kindness, which he is 
also careful to cultivate. 

3. Temperance. The Greek word implies 
moderation, continence, self-control. There are 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 183 

many kinds of intemperance. Ne quid nimis, not 
anything too far, is with remembering. " Every 
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in 
all things." — 1 Cor. ix, 25. Now if the self-cle- 
nial, abstemiousness, and severe exercises of the 
ancient contestants in public games were cheerfully 
endured in order to obtain a corruptible crown, the 
failure to obtain which would only be a temporary 
disgrace, how much more cheerfully ought we to 
endure all things in order to obtain an incorrupti- 
ble crown, the failure to obtain which will bring 
"shame and everlasting contempt." — Dan. xii, 2. 
Paul's contest was not a beating of air, for in him- 
self he found a more substantial antagonist — "I 
keep my body under, and bring it in subjection." 
We must " mortify," that is, put to death evil pro- 
pensities, or they will be likely to put us to death. 
Many, to all their faith, fortitude, and knowledge 
have neglected to add temperance ; and so at last 
have sunk to a drunkard's grave. O! the inexpres- 
sible wretchedness produced by that one vice! The 
heart-rending scenes and blighted home circles 
which the demon of drunkenness, has caused are 
enough to make it universally hated as a foe to 
the human race. It is well-known that it blunts 
the moral sensibilities, dulls the intellect, empties 
the purse, ruins the health, and at last excludes 
its victim from the joys of a blissful eternity ; for 
no drunkard "shall inherit the kingdom of God." 
1 Cor. vi, 10. The fact that the doses of alcoholic 



184 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

drinks require in so many cases to be continually 
increased in quantity appears to me an indication 
that as common beverages they must be unwhole- 
some ; for water, milk, and even tea or coffee do 
not require to be increased in that unnatural way. 
Fishes are not drowned in water, nor troubles in 
strong drink, for "at the last it biteth like a ser- 
pent, and stingeth like an adder." — Prov. xxiii, 
29, 30, 32. But the Church is the only " Tem- 
perance society " needed by a Christian. If the 
influences of religion do not restrain one from in- 
sobriety, I see not how any outside organization 
can. 

4. Patience. " In your patience possess ye 
your souls. ,, — Lu. xxi, 19. "Ye have need of 
patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, 
ye might receive the promise. For yet a little 
while, and He that shall come will come." — Heb. 
x, 36, 37. " Let patience have her perfect work." 
Jas. i, 4. " Fret not thyself in any wise to do 
evil." — Psa. xxxvii, 8. " The ornament of a meek 
and quiet spirit is, in the sight of God, of great 
price." — 1 Pet. iii, 4. " Ye have heard of the pa- 
tience of Job." — Jas. v, 11. It ought to be a 
sufficient encouragement to know that the Lord 
has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee." — Heb. xiii, 5. 

In trials and troubles 'tis heaven's design 
Our dross to consume, our gold to refine. 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 185 

5. Godliness. This grace throws a sacred 
lustre over the entire conduct, and "is profitable 
unto all things, having promise of the life that 
now is, and of that whi< li is to come." — 1 Tim. 
iv, 8. Piety and devotion are some of its mean- 
ings. It leads us to take delight in frequent 
prayer. The wording of the Lord's prayer indi- 
cates that it is to be used, not yearly, monthly, or 
weekly, but daily — " Give us this day our daily 
bread." When the Saviour said that men " ought 
always to pray and not to faint," He gave two 
illustrations, one teaching perseverance and the 
other humility in prayer. — Lu. xviii, 1-14. We 
should not be content with mere prayerful thoughts 
at irregular times, but should observe both the 
spirit and posture of prayer, by at least once every 
day kneeling and offering up, through Christ, our 
thanks and supplications to our Heavenly Father. 
That kneeling is the most usual posture is evident 
from the fact that Paul uses the expression, " I 
bow my knees," as but another way of saying, " I 
pray." — Ephes. iii, 14. Thus Peter, Paul, Dan- 
iel, Solomon, and even the adorable Redeemer 
himself used to pray. — Ac. ix, 40; xxi, 5; Dan. 
vi, 10; 2 Chron. vi, 13 ; Lu. xxii, 41. David 
and Daniel prayed " three times a day." — Dan. 
vi, 10; Psa. Iv, 17. Godliness prompts us to a 
regular attendance at the Lord's supper, to com- 
memorate with ever-grateful hearts the sufferings 
which He endured for our sakes. This virtue 



186 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

kindles in us a fervent zeal for the advancement 
of religion and the prosperity of the cause of 
Christ ; weaning us from worldliness and placing 
our affections on holy things; leading us to " abhor 
that which is evil and cleave unto that which is 
good." It implies also a performance of the duties 
we owe to our fellow creatures. 

6. Brotherly kindness (Greek, Philadelphia). 
In other passages this word is translated "broth- 
erly love," or " love of the brethren." Love of 
kind is common to men and brutes. Even "birds 
of a feather flock together." Both in sound and 
sense we can trace a relationship between kin, 
kind, kindness. It is human to be humane. 
Love to the brethren is an evidence of our disci- 
pleship. " By this shall all men know that ye are 
my disciples, if ye have love one to another." — 
John xiii, 34, 35. It is an evidence that we have 
entered the Christian life. '* We know that we 
have passed from death unto life, because we love 
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother 
abideth in death." It is an evidence that we love 
God. " Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth 
his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels 
of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of 
God in him?"— 1 John iii, 14, 17. " He that 
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how 
can he love God whom he hath not seen?" — 1 
John iv, 20. It is the Saviour's new command- 
ment — " A new commandment I give unto you, 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 187 

that ye love one another." — John xiii, 34. It 
prompts us to " bear one another's burdens and 
so fulfill the law of Christ."— Gal. vi, 2. No 
need of " benevolent societies " for the members 
of a congregation where brotherly love abounds. 
They need not go to those worldly institutions as 
though the Church of Christ were not sufficient 
for the temporal as well as the eternal needs of man. 
Loving brethren will speak often one to another, 
and will not be likely to forsake the assembling of 
themselves together. — Mai. iii, 16. " Behold how 
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity ! " " Let brotherly love con- 
tinue." — Psa. cxxxiii, 1 ; Heb. x, 25; xiii, 1. 

7. Charity, or rather " love" as the A. B. U. 
renders it. Thus Peter exhorts us to love not our 
brethren only, but, as Paul expresses it, to {t in- 
crease and abound in love one toward another, 
and toward all men." — Mat. v, 46 ; 1 Thes. iii, 
12. This is not the mere giving of alms, for a 
person may give all his goods to feed the poor, 
and " have not charity " or love ; in which case 
his almsgiving " profiteth nothing." Nor is it a 
blindness to the errors and false doctrines of others 
for charity or love "rejoiceth not in iniquity, but 
rejoiceth in the truth." — 1 Cor. xiii, 3, 6. The 
two duties — charity and earnestly contending for 
the faith — would not be enjoined upon us if they 
were incompatible and contrary to one another. 
None have been more perfect examples of true 



188 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

charity than Christ and His apostles, and yet they 
died contending against errors of doctrine and prac- 
tice. Thousands of the early Christians were slain 
for their unflinching advocacy of the true faith, 
but if they had worn the modern garb of a false 
" charity/' might they not have compromised with 
their opponents, and thus lived as completely at 
peace with them as the greatest moral coward or 
popularity seeker of the nineteenth century ? All 
classes of errorists might be fellowshipped by sac- 
rificing the truths and duties which the Bible 
teaches; but this, instead of resembling Christ and 
His apostles, would resemble Pilate and Herod, 
who made friends with one another in condemning 
Christ. As long as the word of God is held in 
proper value and esteem, there must be disputes 
and divisions among men. — Mat. x, 34. What 
remedy is there for it in the present condition of 
the world, which is not infinitely worse than the 
disease ? A total indifference about all the teach- 
ings of the Bible would indeed end all disputes 
about it; but that indifference would be punished 
by the consuming wrath of God, in the day of 
judgment. It is a loving action to warn one who 
is in danger, even if you get no thanks for it. The 
Psalmist calls the reproof of the righteous a kind- 
ness and an excellent oil, and Solomon says, " As 
an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, 
so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear." — Psa. 
cxli, 5; Prov. xxv, 12. We must avoid casting 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 189 

pearls before swine, however. — Mat. vii, 6. After 
the Jews in a certain place had heard and rejected 
the word, Paul said, " It was necessary that the 
word of God should first have been spoken to you ; 
but seeing ye put it from you, and judge your- 
selves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the 
Gentiles." — Ac. xiii, 45, 46. And so after one 
has manifested hatred and contempt for " the word 
of the kingdom," let us turn to others, in hopes of 
finding better aud more hospitable soil for that 
precious word. — Mat. xiii, 19. 

" Love worketh no ill to his neighbor." — Rom. 
xiii, 10. Hence the Christian refuses to arm him- 
self with carnal weapons and slay his fellow man 
upon the battle-field. The disciples were reproved 
for quoting an instance under a forme?- dispensa- 
tion to justify them in slaying their enemies. Every 
Christian should be imbued with the same dispo- 
sition as his Master who did " not come to destroy 
men's lives but to save them " — " let this mind be 
in you which was also in Christ Jesus." — Lu. ix, 
56; Phil, ii, 5; 1 Jno. ii, 6; 2 Tim. ii, 24. 
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Cae- 
sar's," refers to taxes. — Mat. xxii, 21. The money 
bore the image of Caesar and was to be rendered to 
him ; but the Christian bears the image of God, 
has been " bought with a price," and his body be- 
longs to God by an infinitely better right than the 
money to Caesar ; hence he is to glorify God in 
his body, and to render his body, blood, and life 



190 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

to God alone. — 1 Cor. vi, 19, 20; Rom. xii, 1. 
Love is beautifully analyzed by Paul in 1 Cor. 
xiii. It is the crowning of Christian virtues, and 
is the only acceptable principle of obedience, 
whether under the law or the gospel. " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This 
is the first and great commandment. And the sec- 
ond is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself. On these two commandments hang all 
the law and the prophets." — Mat. xxii, 37, 40. 

I have scarcely given more than a few seed- 
thoughts on the duties and graces of the Christian 
life. If we believe and advocate the gospel, and 
illustrate it in our lives, we will fully accom- 
plish our mission,* for others beholding our good 

* Each dispensation, systematically, has had its beginning 
and foundation laid in miracles; the Patriarchal in the mira- 
cles of creation and of Eden : the Mosaic in the miracles of 
the Exode and the conquest of Canaan ; and the presenf 
dispensation in the miracles of Christ and His apostles. 
Prophets and apostles wrought miracles to confirm their 
words as a part of the volume of revelation : but when the 
Bible became a completed book, to which we dare not add 
(Rev. xxii, 18), miracles were discontinued, as the scaffold- 
ing used in constructing a building is taken down when the 
building is finished. Hence in this part of the gospel dispen- 
sation men are not to claim apostolic powers. The predic- 
tion in Mark xvi, 17, 18 was fulfilled in the apostolic age and 
ministry. Mark who wrote A..D. 65, towards the close of 
that ministry, actually records its fulfillment in v. 20 — "the 
Lord working with them and confirming the word with 
THE SIGNS, toon semeioon, following." 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 191 

works will glorify our Heavenly Father (Mat, 
v, 16), we will put to silence the ignorance of 
foolish men (1 Pet. ii, 15), and finally obtain an 
abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." O glorious 
destiny ! O blissful fruition of all our hopes and 
labors! Therefore, brethren and sisters, "keep 
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the 
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life;" 
yea, " be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abound- 
ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye 
know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 
Jude 21 ; 1 Cor. xv, 58. 

And sinner, why do you linger in a land of dra- 
gons ? I beseech you to escape for your life to 
the gate of safety that kindly stands ajar for thee. 
In the book of life there is yet room for your 
name, and the door of mercy is not yet closed. O 
let me urge you to enter that door and have your 
name enrolled in that book ere it be too late. Lve 
heard that on one occasion a speaker was dwelling 
on the danger of being shut out from salvation, 
and illustrating it by the closing of the ark ; and 
as he described the great doors moving on their 
hinges, about to be closed, a lady in the audience 
intensely thinking of the scene cried out in an- 
guish, Oh ! do not close the door until my husband 
gets in ! And is there not some one here to-day 
who is safe in the Ark but has a dear friend or re- 
lative still standing without and liable to be swept 



192 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

away by the coming waves of God's wrath? Ask 
them to begin to-day to seek the kingdom of God. 
I'll excuse you if you get up and go across the 
house to ask them. Let the mother speak to the 
daughter at her side, the father to his son, the wife 
to her husband ; for the Lord will have a whole 
family to be saved — " come thou and all thy house 
into the ark.'' Soon the door will no longer 
stand open, the church will be caught away to 
meet the Lord, as the ark was borne away on 
the waters. No more invitations then, no more 
sermons, no more loving friends pleading with 
you to be saved, and to behold the Lamb of 
God. All this will be passed, the hour of 
judgment will have come and sinners of all 
classes great and small, high and low, will 
run terror stricken to rocks and mountains cry- 
ing out " Fall on us and hide us from the face 
of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the 
wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His 
wrath is come and who shall be able to stand." 

A blooming young lady of Norfolk was walking 
the street as bright, healthy and cheerful as any- 
body in this house apparently, but was suddenly 
taken down sick and though surrounded by wealth 
and loving attentions of a multitude of friends, 
and ministered to by some of the best medical talent 
in the city she lingered but a few days, and then 
in spite of all that wealth and love and skill could 
do she died, and her death seemed to cast a gloom 



CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 193 

over nearly half the city. And I was told that 
she was engaged to be married and was literally 
shrouded in her bridal robes ! Thus her wedding 
ceremony was a funeral sermon, her wedding dress 
a shroud, and her bridal chamber the grave ! O 
sad, sad fate ! Will you not let this warn you of 
the uncertainty of life ? In the same city I knew 
a man who was making money rapidly and invest- 
ing it in real estate, and though but middle aged 
he was taken down with some sudden disease and 
died in about twenty-four hours, and worse than 
all, died in his sins, for he was a notoriously wicked 
man. 

I could relate many more such circumstances 
that have come within my own personal knowledge, 
but I forbear. Are not these enough to warn you 
of the uncertainty of life ? O come to Jesus ; come 
to-day. To the youthful, God says, " Remember 
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth ;" to the 
aged, " Why stand ye here idle all the day ?" See ! 
the sun in the west ; your white locks are bloom- 
ing for the grave ! O will you not go now, at the 
eleventh hour, and work in the vineyard ? Better 
go late as this than not go at all. 

Think not that you are naturally immortal, and 
that if you persist in sin you can outlive your 
future punishment, serve out your term, and finally 
enter the joys of the redeemed. Flatter not your- 
self with such vain hopes; for that which is 
immortal cannot die, " but the soul that sinneth it 
9 



194 CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND GRACES. 

shall die "; hence the soul of the sinner is not im- 
mortal. — Eze. xviii, 4, 20. There will never be 
another moment of joy for those who die in their 
sins. Therefore, "make haste and delay not to 
keep the commandments of the Lord. 7 ' — Psa. cxix, 
60. He commands you to believe the gospel of the 
kingdom, and then "be baptized and ivash away 
your sins." — Mar. i, 14, 15 ; Ac. xxii, 16. Surely 
" His commandments are not grievous," but His 
yoke is easy and His burden light. — 1 John v, 3. 



[From "Songs of Zion."] 

Behold an open door ! 

It stands ajar for thee! 
For thee, poor sinner, to secure 

Bless'd immortality. 

The Saviour calls from sin, 
And hids you enter there ; 

'Tis life, and light, and joy within, 
And bliss beyond compare. 

When closed by His command, 
Your tears may stain the sill, 

But yet that door will ever stand 
Fast barr'd against you still. 

'Tis mercy's only gate 

That leads to life and home ; 
Then hasten, ere it be too late, 

And flee from " wrath to come." 



195 
NINTH DISCOURSE. 



THE KINGDOM AS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE 
CHURCH. A FEW PROMINENT SIGNS THAT THE 
KINGDOM IS NEAR. 

" Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is 
in heaven." — Matt, vi, 10. 

In previous discourses I have shown that the 
kingdom of which the gospel speaks will hereafter 
be established on earth. But many hold the notion 
that the church itself is the kingdom. And this 
although they are expressed by two words which 
differ as much in Greek as in English. Church is 
ekklesia, kingdom is basileia. Ekklesia occurs 
about one hundred and fifteen times in the New 
Testament but is never translated kingdom. Basi- 
leia occurs about one hundred and sixty times but 
is never translated church. If they were the same 
ought they not, like other synonyms, to interchange 
and make sense? But see how strange and 
unscriptural it would sound to substitute church 
for kingdom in the following sentences. A king- 
dom that shall consume all these kingdoms. — Dan. 
ii, 44. The saints shall take the kingdom and 
possess the kingdom; (the saints themselves are 
the church ; will the church take the church f). 
Dan. vii, 18. The time came that the saints 
possessed the kingdom. — Dan. vii, 22. " Inherit 



196 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

the kingdom prepared for you." — Mat. xxv, 34. 
" There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth 
when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and 
you yourselves thrust out." — Lu. xiii, 28. " Sit 
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the 
kingdom." — Mat. viii, 8. " Who shall judge the 
quick and the dead at His appearing and His king- 
dom." — 2 Tim. iv, 1. "Thy kingdom come." 
(Could the church pray for itself to come?) Mat. 
vi, 10. But among those who suppose the king- 
dom to be already in the world there is a wide 
difference of opinion as to the time when it was set 
up, some say on the first Pentecost after the Saviour 
ascended, others a great while before that. The 
latter class base their opinions, it seems, on a mis- 
understanding of such expressions as the following, 
used before Pentecost : " The kingdom of God is 
preached and every man presseth into it" — Lu. 
xvi, 16 ; " Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven 
against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, 
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in" 
Mat. xxiii, 13 ; " The kingdom of God is come 
upon you" — Lu. xi, 20. A. Campbell, of Bethany, 
Va., taught that the kingdom was not set up until 
the day of Pentecost. I will therefore let him 
answer the preceding objections. He says, "Because 
Christ was promised and prefigured in the patriar- 
chal and Jewish ages, the Paidobaptists will have 
the kingdom of heaven on earth since the days of 



AND THE SIGNS. 197 

Abel ; and because the glad tidings of the reign 
and kingdom of heaven and the principles of the 
new and heavenly order of society were promulged 
by John, the Baptists will have John the Baptist 
in the kingdom of heaven, and the very person 
who set it up. . . The principles of any reign or 
revelation are always promulgated, debated and 
canvassed before a new order of things is set up. . . 
In society, as in nature, we have first the blade, 
next the stem, and then the ripe corn in the ear. 
We call it wheat, or we call it corn, when we have 
only the promise in the blade. By such a figure 
of speech the kingdom of God was spoken of, 
while as yet only its 'principles were promulging. 
Jesus often unfolded its character and design in 
various similitudes, and every one who received 
these principles were said to ' press into the king- 
dom ' or to have ' the kingdom within them f and 
wherever these principles were promulged 'the king- 
dom of heaven' was said to have 'come nigh' to that 
people, or to * have overtaken them ; ' and those 
who opposed these principles and interposed their 
authority to prevent others from receiving them, 
were said to 6 shut the kingdom of heaven against 
men;' and thus all those Scriptures must of neces- 
sity be understood from the contexts in which they 
stand. . . In anticipation, they who believed the 
gospel of the kingdom received the kingdom of 
God, just as in anticipation He said, 'I have 
finished the work which thou gavest me to do/ 



198 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

before He began to suffer ; and as He said, ' This 
cup is the new testament in my blood, shed for the 
remission of the sins of many/ before it was 
shed. . . Those who received these principles by 
anticipation were said to enter the kingdom." — 
"Christian System," 1839, pp. 171-174. But 
that writer did not carry this principle of interpre- 
tation to its proper length, for the same kind of 
expressions used after Pentecost, such as "hath 
translated us unto the kingdom," or " your com- 
panion in the kingdom " must be understood in 
the same way, that is, as said by a figure of speech 
called prolepsis or anticipation) for I shall presently 
bring an overwhelming array of expressions which 
prove the actual setting up of the kingdom and 
the actual entrance therein to he future. 

For convenience let us collect these testimonies 
into, 1st, those which prove that the kingdom was 
not set up before Pentecost ; and 2d, those which 
prove it was not set up at Pentecost, and will not 
be set up before the second coming of the Lord 
Jesus. 

I. Testimonies which prove that the kingdom was 
not set up before Pentecost. (1), John the Baptist 
said, " The kingdom of heaven is at hand," or 
"the reign of heaven approaches." — Campbell's 
edition, 1832, Mat. iii, 2. At hand does not mean 
" has come," but refers to future things, as " The 
end of all things is at hand," which, being said 
1,800 years ago, proves that the expression can 



AND THE SIGNS. 199 

have a very wide scope. — 1 Pet, iv, 7. See also 
Deut. xxxii, 35. Thus towards the close of this 
dispensation, on the very verge of the second ad- 
vent, the kingdom is spoken of not as having 
come long before, but as being " still at hand — 
" When ye see these things come to pass, know ye 
that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand" — Lu. 
xxi,31. That cry, " the kingdom ofGodisathand," 
extends over the whole present dispensation until 
it is fulfilled in the actual coming of the kingdom. 
The Saviour and His apostles likewise declared 
the kingdom to be at hand. — Mat. iv, 17 ; x, 7 ; 
Mark i, 15. What Matthew calls " the kingdom 
of heaven," the other evangelists, in reciting the 
same parables and incidents, call u the kingdom of 
God." (2). "He that is least in the kingdom of 
God is greater than John." — Lu. vii, 28. Hence 
John was not in the kingdom, though certainly 
" in the church," as was Moses in former times. — 
Ac. vii, 38. This proves that one can be in the 
church without being in the kingdom. If the 
church were the kingdom, you would have to be- 
lieve that the least in the church was greater than 
John, of whom the Saviour said there was not a 
greater prophet " among those that are born of 
women." After sprinkling a few drops of water 
on the face of an infant, the Episcopal service 
says, "This child is now regenerate and grafted 
into the body of Christ's church." But can you 
suppose the Saviour to mean that the least and 



200 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

worst little infant sprinkled in this way is greater 
than John ? I dare not so torture His words, but 
understand Him to say that the least immortal and 
glorified saint in the kingdom will be greater than 
John then was, in his mortal state ; and at once 
the beauty and fitness of His words are seen. And 
those Jews who were too carnal and groveling in 
their ideas of that kingdom which the Messiah 
was foretelling, were, by this declaration of His, 
made to receive a more exalted conception of the 
nature aud glory of it. " Is greater than John " 
means "shall be greater." It is the prospective 
present, as " They are equal to the angels," i. e. 
they shall be equal to them after the future resur- 
rection. — Lu. xx, 36. (3). "Except your right- 
eousness shall exceed the righteousness of the 
Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into 
the kingdom." — Mat. v, 1, 20. This was said to 
those who had become His disciples, and it proves 
that neither had they yet entered the kingdom. 
(4). " Seek ye the kingdom of God."— Lu. xii, 22, 
31, 32. This too was said to the disciples — the 
"little flock" — but why tell them to seek it if 
they had already found it and were in it? (5). 
Pray ye "Thy kingdom come." — Mat. vi, 10. 
But why pray for it to come, if it had already 
come? Tertullian, who wrote near the end of the 
second century, shows that this prayer was used 
by Christians in his time, and that he did not re- 
gard the kingdom as having already come ; for he 



AND THE SIGNS. 201 

says, iii commenting on this petition, " Our wish 
is that our reign be hastened, not our servitude 
protracted. Even if it had not been prescribed 
in the prayer that we should ask for the advent of 
the kingdom, we should, unbidden, have sent forth 
that cry, hastening toward the realization of our 
hope." — On Prayer, ch. v. (6). Joseph was al- 
ready "a disciple of Jesus," and yet he was 
" waiting for the kingdom." — John xix, 38 ; Lu. 
xxiii, 51 — A. B. U. The participle is in the 
present tense, prosdechomenos, " waiting " ; and in 
Titus ii, 13, is translated "looking for," It 
would be quibbling to say that he was still wait- 
ing for it because he was an unworthy church 
member; for this is at once refuted by the strong 
certificate of Scripture that he was " a good and 
just man." — Lu. xxiii, 50. Can you suppose that 
the kingdom was in the hearts of the wicked 
Pharisees but not in the heart of Joseph ! If the 
kingdom only means grace ruling in the heart, 
that kingdom must have been on earth ever since 
Abel ; for I do not see how any man from his time 
until now could be righteous unless grace ruled in 
his heart. Instead of " the kingdom of God is 
within you" the margin reads " the kingdom of 
God is among you." — Lu. xvii, 21. The word 
basileia, rendered u kingdom," also means " royal 
dignity " (see Greenfield's Lexicon), and this royal 
dignity is embodied in Christ, "in whomdwelleth 
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and in 



202 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

whom all the promises concerning that kingdom 
are, yea and amen. This metonymy of speech 
had been used in Dan. vii, 17, 23, in which a king 
is put for a kingdom ; the fourth one of the " four 
kings " in ver. i 7 is called " the fourth kingdom" 
in ver. 23. Thus the meaning would be, " Tha 
King is among you." By a similar metonymy fie 
said, " I am the resurrection" Dean Alford says, 
u The misunderstanding which rendered these 
words 'within you,' meaning this in a spiritual 
sense, ( in your hearts, should have been prevented 
by reflecting that they are addressed to the Phari- 
sees, in whose hearts it certainly ivas not. We 
have the very expression, Xen. Anab. 1 ; 3, entos 
auton. See also John i, 26, and xii, 35, both of 
which are analogous expressions." The sentence 
in which that expression occurs in Xenophon is 
translated by Charles Anthon, LL.D., Professor 
of Greek and Latin, thus — "and other things 
also, as many as were witJiin their lines (entos auton) 
both effects and persons, all they saved." (7). 
As the Saviour journeyed towards Jerusalem, near 
the close of his ministry, u they thought that the 
kingdom of God should immediately appear." — 
Lu. xix, 11. This proves that it had not yet ap- 
peared. (8). " I will not drink of the fruit of the 
vine until the kingdom of God shall come." — Lu. 
xxii* 18. Thus, " when eating the last supper He 
distinctly said that the reign of God was then 
future" — A. Campbell, in " Christian System," 



AND THE SIGNS. 203 

1839, p. 171. Having now brought sufficient 
proof that the kingdom was not set up before the 
Saviour's death, let me next invite you to con- 
sider, 

II. Testimonies proving that it was not set up at 
Pentecost, and will not be set up before the second 
coming of Christ. (1). When Peter explained 
what took place at Pentecost, he did not say, "This 
is that which was spoken of by the prophet Daniel, 
in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven 
set up a kingdom " ; but " This is that which was 
spoken by the prophet Joel, I will pour out my 
Spirit." — Ac. ii, 16, 17. If the long-predicted 
kingdom had been set up on that occasion it would 
certainly have been the great event of the day ; 
and it seems to me incredible that the apostles 
would have neglected to call attention to the fact, 
especially when I see how prompt they usually 
were to call attention to less important events that 
fulfilled some part of prophecy. (2). " We must 
through much tribulation enter the kingdom of 
God." — Ac. xiv, 22. This was said about twelve 
years after Pentecost, and proves that the disciples 
and even Paul himself, though certainly in the 
church, had not yet entered the kingdom, but were 
still waiting for it like the disciples before Pente- 
cost. The tribulation and kingdom are not simul- 
taneous ; we must pass " through" the former before 
we enter the latter. The same is taught in 2 Tim. 
ii, 12 ; Rom. viii, 17, 18. Paul does not say, 



204 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

" We have entered the kingdom," as many moderns 
tell those who have joined the church. Can you 
hesitate as to which language is right, Paul's or 
theirs ? It is admitted that he uses a cutting irony 
when (26 years after Pentecost) he says to some, 
" Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned 
as kings without us. . We are fools for Christ's 
sake, but ye are wise in Christ ; we are weak, but 
ye are strong." But, dropping the ironical style, 
he says, " Would to God ye did reign, that we also 
might >*eign with you." — 1 Cor. iv, 8-10. (3). 
"An entrance shall be" — not has been — "minis- 
tered unto you abundantly into the everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
2 Pet. i, 1, 11. Said about 33 years after Pente- 
cost to the church itself, which had " obtained like 
precious faith " with the apostles. (4). " That ye 
may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, 
for which ye also suffer." — 2 Thes. i, 5. About 
21 years after Pentecost, he does not say, "Ye 
have been counted worthy of the kingdom in which 
ye also suffer." When will they be counted 
worthy? " When the Son of man shall come in 
His glory " and invite them to " inherit the king- 
dom."— Mat. xxv, 31, 34. (5), " Walk worthy of 
God, who is calling you into His kingdom and 
glory." — 1 Thes. 2, 12. This is the correct trans- 
lation, as given by the American Bible Union. 
Dean Alford also gives the same rendering, and he 
remarks, " Kalountos, present, because the action 



AND THE SIGNS. 205 

is extended on to the future by the following 
words. God calls us to His kingdom, the kingdom 
of our Lord Jesus, which He shall establish on 
earth at His coming." 

This exhortation of Paul was addressed " to the 
church . . . which is in God the Father, and in 
the Lord Jesus Christ." See 1 Thes. i, 1. And it 
shows that God, by spiritual culture and training, 
is calling the church of the present into the king- 
dom of the future. This text alone is enough to 
prove that the church is not the kingdom. It is 
parallel to 1 Pet. i, 1 1 . The kingdom of God is 
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. — 
Rom. xiv, 17. This appears to be a metonymy in 
which the effect or end to be obtained is put for 
the cause that leads to it ; as, "I have set before 
you life and death " (Deut. xxx, 19) i. e. the things 
which cause or lead to life and death. " There is 
death in the pot" (2 Kin. iv, 40) i. e. a cause lead- 
ing to death. " To be carnally minded is death." 
(Rom. viii, 6) i. e. leads to death, as its punish- 
ment.* And so righteousness, peace and joy lead 
to an inheritance in the kingdom at last ; but a 
contention with brethren about meats and drinks 
will not do this, for " meat commended us not to 
God," and " the unrighteous shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God."— 1 Cor. vi, 9; viii, 8. (6), 



* " Instances of metonymy of the effect for the cause, are, 
in the sacred writings, innumerable," — A. Campbell, in Chr. 
Res. p. 39, 1839, 



206 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

" The kingdom which He hath promised (it does 
not say hath given) to them that love Him." — Jas, 
ii, 5. James speaks in the same way of the crown 
of life, which is is also future — " the crown of life 
which the Lord hath promised to them that love 
Him."— Jas. i, 12. (7). " Then shall the righteous 
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
Father." This docs not occur before the great day 
of " harvest," as the context plainly shows. — Mat. 
xiii, 43. (8). He " shall judge the living and the 
dead at His appearing and His kingdom." So we 
are not to expect His kingdom until His appearing ; 
these events God hath joined together, and let 
not any human creed put them asunder. — 2 
Tim. iv, 1. (9). The very same latter day signs 
indicate the nearness of the kingdom and of our 
redemption ; hence the kingdom and the redemp- 
tion will come simultaneously, for the Lord hath 
joined them together. (10). " Flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God." — 1 Cor. xv, 
50.* That one sentence is enough to prove that 
Christians are not yet in the kingdom. Is it not 
a very carnal view to say that mortal and erring 
creatures in the present " flesh and blood " nature 
do enter and commence their reign in that kingdom 



* " They to whom it is granted to enter into the kingdom 
of God, will have to put on the power of an incorruptible 
and immortal life ; for without this, before they are able to 
obtain it, they cannot enter the kingdom of God." — Tertul- 
lian (about A.D. 200) De Ees. ch. 50.— Clark. 



AND THE SIGNS. 207 

as soon as they join the church ? A modern writer 
who taught that the church is the kingdom, has 
even said that, "The kingdom which Jesus received 
from his Father, however heavenly, sublime, and 
glorious it may be regarded, is only temporal. It 
had a beginning, and it will have an end." — (Chr. 
Sys. p. 153, edition 1839). I suppose this was 
perfectly consistent with the popular modern notion 
of a present church-kingdom, but it is contrary to 
Scripture, w r hich plainly declares that "of His 
kingdom there shall be no end" and calls it "the 
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ."— Lu. i, 32, 33; 2 Pet. i, 11. (11). The 
whole structure of the parable of the Pounds proves 
that the kingdom which the Nobleman went to 
receive does not appear until He " In bliss returns 
to reign" as the missionary hymn says. — Lu. xix, 
12-27. * (12). It is not when they enter the 
church, but when they rise from the grave that 
the saints begin their reign with Christ. — Rev. xx, 
4. (13). The lime for them to possess the king- 
dom does not arrive until the Ancient of days 
comes, that is, until Christ comes " in the glory of 



* " He went to receive solemn investiture of that kingdom 
which He had purchased with His blood, and which here- 
after He shall return and claim as His own sitting on the 
throne of His father David." — Trench, Dean of Westmin- 
ster. '" That which they thought should immediately appear, 
Christ tells them will not appear, till this same Jesus, which 
is taken into heaven, shall in like manner come again ; see 
Ac. i, 11."— Henry. 



208 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

His Father."—- Dan. vii, 22 ; Mat. xvi, 27. (14). 
Certainly when the kingdom is set up, Christ, the 
King, will take His seat on His glorious throne, 
but He does not take that seat until His coming ; 
hence the kingdom is not set up till then. — Mat. 
xxv, 31. (15). It would be unseemly for the 
nobles of a kingdom to obtain their coronets and 
subordinate thrones before the king obtains his ; 
hence the Saviour does not say before but " when 
the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, 
ye (apostles) also shall sit upon twelve thrones." 
And when will that be? Let His own words be our 
answer — " When the Son of man shall COME in 
His glory and all the holy angels with Him, THEN 
shall he sit upon the throne of His glory." — Mat. 
xix, 28, with xxv, 31. (16). When the kingdom 
is set up the descending Stone is to smite the image 
in its divided state i. e. on its feet and toes of iron 
and clay. But at the first advent the image had 
not arrived at its divided state but was existing in 
its iron form and under one head, as proved by the 
decree from its one ruler at Rome " that all the 
world should be taxed." Hence the smiting which 
attends the setting up of the kingdom did not take 
place at the first advent. The image did not com- 
mence being divided into the ten parts, indicated 
by the ten toes, until the fourth century after the 
first advent. — Dan. ii, 34, 44; Lu. ii, 1. Plainly 
enough prophecy shows that the image is to be 
smitten in the days, not of iron only, as at the first 



AND THE SIGNS. 209 

advent, but in the clays of "iron and day." — Dan. 
ii, 34, 42. Nor does the stone go softly up to the 
image and gradually absorb it as by the mild and 
gentle wooings of the go pel, but suddenly smites 
it with a crushing blow (Mat. xxi, 44), and 
" THEN " the fragments are swept away so that 
no place is found for them ; verse 35. Think you 
that we should find human governments in the 
world to-day, if that smiting had occurred eighteen 
hundred years ago ? * 

Having clearly proved that the kingdom is not 
to be set up until the second advent, let me now 
call your attention to some of the signs which de- 
note that it is " nigh at hand." We are not to 
neglect this branch of study, but are commanded 
to give attention to the signs and learn the lesson 
which they teach. " When ye see these things 
come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is 



* The celebrated commentary of Jamieson, Faussett and 
Brown says, on Dan. ii, " The kingdom of God coming from 
heaven originally, ends in heaven being established on earth. 
. . 'In the days of these kings' answers to*' upon his feet' 
(v. 34) i. e. ' the ten toes' (v. 42), or ten kings, the final state 
of the Roman empire. The falling of the stone on the im- 
age must mean destroying judgment on the fourth Gentile 
power, not gradual evangelization of it by grace ; and the 
destroying judgment cannot be dealt by christians, for they 
are taught to submit to the powers that be, so that it must 
be dealt by Christ himself at His coming again. We live 
under the divisions of the Roman empire which began 1400 
years ago, and which at the time of His coming shall be 
definitely ten." 



210 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

nigh at hand." — Lu. xxi, 31. "Can ye not dis- 
cern the signs of the times?" — Mat. xvi, 3. 
By the chart of prophecy we can discover very 
nearly at what point in this world's career the 
church has now arrived. Daniel, in his interpre- 
tation of the great image and of the four beasts 
(chapters ii and vii) has .delineated with wonderful 
clearness the course of events from his own time 
until the second advent. Here is a very ancient 
and admirable summary of those two visions, 
given by Hippolytus, who was martyred A.D. 235, 
and who is pronounced by the " Comprehensive 
Commentary" to be "one of the most distin- 
guished of the ancient fathers and martyrs." He 
says : — " The golden head of the image, and the 
lioness, denoted the Babylonians; the shoulders 
and arms of silver, and the bear, represented the 
Persians and Medes ; the belly and thighs of brass, 
and the leopard, meant the Greeks, who held the 
sovereignty from Alexander's time; the legs of 
iron, and the beast dreadful and terrible, ex- 
pressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at 
present; the toes of the feet, which were part clay 
and part iron, and the ten horns, were emblems of 
the kingdoms that are yet to rise ; the other little 
horn that grows up among them meant the Anti- 
Christ in their midst ; the stone that smites the 
earth and brings judgment upon the world was 
Christ. . . After a little space the Stone will come 
from heaven which smites the image and breaks it 



AND THE SIGNS. 211 

in pieces, and subverts all the kingdoms, and gives 
the kingdom to the saints of the Most High. 
This is the Stone which becomes a great mountain 
and fills the whole earth." — Treatise on Christ 
and Antichrist, 26, 28, Clark's ed., Edinburgh. 

Hippolytus wrote before the division of the em- 
pire, and see how wonderfully history has verified 
his view of the prophecy ! Observe, too, that he 
did not fall into the modern error of supposing the 
Stone had smitten the image at the first advent. 
For greater clearness let me present the visions of 
Dan. ii and vii in the following parallel form, the 
left column being the four metals of the image, 
and the right the four beasts. Some things are 
represented by the beasts which could not be 
represented by the metals ; hence the one set of 
symbols is supplemented by the other. 

The fourth, like the three that went before it, 
was to be a great predominating human empire, 
as indicated by the saying that it should " devour 
the whole earth, and tread it down, and break it in 
pieces." — Dan. vii, 23. That the Roman was that 
fourth great empire is proved by its closely suc- 
ceeding the third, and having authority to send 
out a decree from E-ome " that all the world should 
be taxed." — Lu. ii, 1. Notice how beautifully the 
Bible is its own interpreter in all this great suc- 
cession of empires, telling us which would succeed 
which, and that the glorious and eternal kingdom 
of God shall succeed them all. 



212 



THE KIKGDOM, THE CHURCH, 



(Dan. ii.) 

THE GOLD. 

Babylonian empire, ruling 
" wheresoever the children of men 
dwell," — ver. 38. Overthrown and 
succeeded by the Medo-Persian, 
about 538 B. C— Dan. v, 28, 81. 

THE SILVER. 

Medo-Persian empire, under Cy- 
rus, who declared "All the king- 
doms of the earth " were given 
him.— Ezra i, 2. Succeeded about 
330 B. C. by the Grecian. In Dan. 
viii. 5, 7, 20, 21, this is represented 
by an he-goat conquering a rani. 

THE BRASS. 

Grecian empire, bearing "rule 
over all the earth," ver. 39. "The 
brazen-coated Greeks." After Alex- 
ander's death it was divided into 
4 kingdoms and finally succeeded 
by the Roman empire, which ar- 
rived at the meridian of its power 
about 19 B. C. 

THE IRON. 

First phase : The unmixed iron 
was the Roman empire in its undi- 
vided state. Second phase : The 
"iron mixed with clay" is the 
same empire after it became di- 
vided, first into Eastern and West- 
ern, and afterwards into 10 king- 
doms. The first clang of the 
descending Stone is not on the 
silver, gold, brass or iron, but on 
the iron and clay (v, 34, 41), then the 
rest are pulverized and the kingdom 
of God fills the earth.— ver. 35, 44. 



(Dan. vii.) 

THE LION 

Answers to the gold of the image. 
A winged lion denoted strength 
and swiftness in war. But was hum- 
bled by defeat—" a man's heart 
was given it." — ver. 4; Psa. ix, 20. 

THE BEAR 

Answers to the silver breast and 
anus — the Medes and Persians 
united in one empire. A bear in- 
dicates their bloodthirsty cruelty. 
Isa. xiii, 18. Three ribs probably 
denote the " three presidents." — 
Dan. vi, 2. 

THE LEOPARD 

Answers to the brass. JWith 4 
wings, denoted the daring and im- 
petuosity of Alexander and his 
army. Four heads represent the 
4 kingdoms into which the empire 
was divided after Alexander's 
death.— Dan. viii, 8, 22; xi, 4. 



THE FOURTH BEAST 

Answers to the iron and iron 
mixed with clay. It succeeds the 
leopard as the iron did the brass. 
Its two rows of " great iron teeth " 
(vii, 7) answer to the two legs of 
iron ; its 10 horns to the 10 toes of 
the image. The Lamb overcoming 
the 10 kings and other foes at the 
advent, and His subsequent reign 
with the risen saints answers to 
crushing the toes, &c, and the set- 
ting up Of the KINGDOM OF GOD.— 

See Rev. xvii, 14 ■ xix, 19 ; xx, 4. 



AND THE SIGNS. 213 

These visions of Daniel describe the course of 
events from his time until the setting up of the 
kingdom of God. The human kingdoms all 
" arise out of the earth," not one of them forming 
any part of that image is said to be " of heaven." 
Hence they are fitly represented by metals dug out 
of the earth, and by fierce wild beasts coming 
" out of the sea," whose troubled waters " casting 
up mire and dirt " are emblematic of the wicked. 
Daniel vii, 3, 17 ; Isa. lvii, 20. Well, taking the 
Bible in one hand and history in the other, we 
find in the preceding chart, by the severely accu- 
rate logic of historical events, that we are now 
living in the very last extremity of the image, in 
the very last days of mortal rule, and on the verge 
of the moment when the descending Stone will 
crush into dust all human governments and fill 
the earth with the kingdom of God. When Paul 
wrote to the Thessalonians he certainly did not 
place the advent in an indefinite future, but 
plainly taught that some generation of believers — 
those who " are alive and remain " — shall be eye- 
witnesses of the advent, and that it should occur 
after a certain power then existing should be 
taken out of the way, and the man of sin devel- 
oped.—! Thes. iv, 16, 17 ; 2 Thes. ii, 8 * 



* Instead of " is at hand," in verse 2, read '• is come " or 
" is present," for so the Greek signifies. To think the day 
had already come and not brought the Lord with it was 
enough to trouble them and to shake their faith (see 2 Tim. 



214 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

But signs even more vivid than those already 
considered are given for the comfort and warning 
of waiting and watching ones, by which they may 
know that "the morning cometh and also the 
night" — the morning of endless joy for the 
righteous, the night of eternal death for the 
wicked, — Isa. xxi, 12. The constant drying up 
or wasting away of the power symbolized by the 
" great river Euphrates " is one of those signs. 
See Rev. xvi, 12-15. Anciently the Assyrian 
empire, bordering on that river, was the political 
Euphrates, and that nation, extending itself and 
conquering its neighbors, was compared to that 
river overflowing its banks. — Isa. viii, 7. Hence 
the wasting away of that empire or nation might 
have been aptly compared to the drying up of that 
river. There can hardly be a doubt but that, in 
symbolic language, the Turks are the modem Eu- 
phrates. (Waters, in the very next chapter, "are 
peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. "- 
Rev. xvii, 15.) I think we first get a view of 
that nation under the 6th Trumpet, when the four 
angels, or four sultanies of the Turks, were loosed 
from the great river Euphrates as a warlike scourge 

ii, 18) ; but why should they be "troubled" at the joyful 
tidings that the day is near ? " The teaching of the apostles 
was, and of the Holy Spirit in all ages has been, that the 
day of the Lord is at hand. But these Thessalonians imag- 
ined it to be already come, and accordingly were deserting 
their pursuits in life, and falling into other irregularities, as 
if the day of grace were closed." — Alfobd. 



AND THE SIGNS. 215 

upon the nations west of that river. On that 
loosing of the four angels the " Comprehensive 
Commentary" says: — " This is explained by the 
most approved interpreters, according to the em- 
blematical style of the prophecy, to be a predic- 
tion that the Turks, or Othmans, who had 
hitherto been restrained beyond the Euphrates, 
would be released from that restraint, and proceed to 
make conquests to the west of that river." And 
thus I think we may regard the 6th Trumpet as a 
key by which to interpret the 6th Vial. A glance 
at the history of the Turkish Empire from A.D. 
1820 to the present time will show how steadily 
has been progressing the drying up of that fearful 
Euphratean inundation, which once carried con- 
sternation into Europe itself. In addition to 
wasting and amputating wars, the empire has been 
internally weakened by revolts, massacres, plagues, 
conflagrations, and general mismanagement. 
Taking a mere dull and secular view of the facts, 
Alison, as an historian, testifies that " generally 
speaking, the country is retrograde, and 1 exhibits 
the usual and well-known features of decaying 
societies." Fleming, an old writer on prophecy, 
considered "that, as the 6th Trumpet (Rev. ix, 
13-19) brought the Turks from beyond the 
Euphrates, so the 6th Vial exhausts their power." 
But why call this drying up a sign of the advent ? 
Because it is announced under the same vial (the 
6th) with the announcement of the Lord's coming. 



216 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

Martin Luther, long ago (he died in 1546) had the 
wisdom to perceive this, for he says, " When the 
Turk begins to decline, then the last day will be 
at hand, for the testimony of the Scripture must 
be verified."— In his " Table Talk," of the resur- 
rection. Translated by Hazlitt. 

The rapid decline of " the sick man," as the 
Turk has been called, brings England upon the 
scene to look after her interests in his estate. And 
this becomes on the prophetic horizon another 
bright streak of the coming dawn for it leads us 
to hope for a great improvement of Palestine and for 
a speedy gathering there of the number of Jews 
which prophecy requires to be in the land at the 
Lord's coming. There must be some such gather- 
ing there for when Gog marches against them "in 
the latter days " they are described as " the people 
that are gathered out of the nations, which have 
gotten cattle and goods." — Eze. xxxviii, 12-16. 
That however is not the great restoration of Israel 
but only as the few large drops that precede the 
shower. The required number of settlers may 
soon be obtained. Already towards that land a 
tide seems to have set in of returning Israelites. 

And simultaneously with the decline of Turkey 
is the aggrandisement of Russia, and her encroach- 
ment upon the Turk. This too is a sign, for 
prophecy requires that " in the latter days " a vast 
military host shall come " out of the north parts " 
with many allied bands " against the mountains of 



AND THE SIGNS. 217 

Israel," and the Jews gathered • there ; but that 
host shall then perish at the "presence" of the 
Lord, which indicates that He will come at that 
time. — Eze. xxxviii, 15-23. On this and the 
succeeding chapter of Ezekiel the Comprehensive 
Commentary says, " If any part of the ancient 
prophecies allude more plainly than others to 
the latter days, it is this of Ezekiel concern- 
ing Gog and Magog. It has undoubtedly not 
received its completion." But why suppose 
that " Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of 
Meshech and Tubal" means Russia? Because 
history and geography point that way. They dwell 
in "the north parts" ("the uttermost north" — 
Septuagint). Eze. xxxviii, 15, and xxxix, 2. 
Maury's Intermediate Geography, 1876, says, 
Russia has been called "The Colossus of the 
North," on account of its great size and strength. 
It is the northernmost great empire on the globe. 
Daniel, speaking as I believe of the same invasion, 
calls its commander " the King of the north," and 
tells of his destruction at the resurrection, that is, 
at the advent, for the resurrection will not occur 
before the Lord comes. — Dan. xi, 40, 45, and xii, 
2. Watson's Theol. Diet, says, " Gog and Magog, 
the general name of the northern nations of Eu- 
rope and Asia, or the districts north of the Caucas- 
sus or mount Taurus." In a foot note on Gen. x, 
2, (1873) The American Bible Union says that 
instead of " the chief prince of Meshech and Tu- 

10 



218 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

bal," in Eze. xxxviii, 2, it ought to be translated, 
" the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal."' It 
then adds, " Rosh (according to the best authorities) 
is identical with Bus and Russia, and is the earliest 
trace of that powerful people. The obliteration 
of it, by the authorized version, is one of the many- 
remarkable variations of our version from the 
meaning of the sacred text of the Old Testament." 
The Septuagint also has " Rosh " here, which in 
Greek becomes " Rds." 

Now when Russia and her allied nations invade 
the land of Israel they will find themselves confron- 
ted by foes called "Sheba and Dedan, and the 
merchants of Tarshish with all the young lions 
thereof." — Eze. xxxviii, 8-13. As to the location 
of " Tarshish " there were anciently, it seems, two 
countries of that name, Eastern and Western, 
somewhat as now there are E. and W. Indies. At 
Ezion-gaber, a port on the Red Sea, were built 
" ships to go to Tarshish"; and once in three years 
they brought " gold, silver, ivory, apes and pea- 
cocks" — products now found in India; and so 
perhaps this was the eastern Tarshish. — 2 Chron. 
ix, 21, and xx, 36 ; 1 Kin. x, 22. Also we find 
that from Joppa, now Jaffa on the Mediterranean, 
Jonah embarked on "a ship going to Tarshish." 
This would seem to point out a Western Tarshish 
from which Tyre, a Phoenician city, obtained " sil- 
ver, iron, tin and lead."— Eze. xxvii, 12. Fitch's 
" Physical Geography " says, " The most produc- 



AND THE SIGNS. 219 

tive tin mining region in the world is Cornwall, 
England. The Cornish mines have been worked 
from a very early period, the metal from which 
formed an article of traffic icith the Phoenicians and 
Greeks before the time of our Saviour." This 
prophecy therefore seems to point to the British 
forces and their allies assembled about Palestine to 
defend the British route to India; and indeed to 
defend India itself; for it seems probable that the 
snatching of India from England will be one of 
the motives with which Russia will invade the 
land of Israel. These military movements will 
produce a vast confluence of peoples to Palestine. 
One of the effects of the sixth vial, besides drying 
up the Euphrates, is to gather " the kings of the 
earth and of the whole world" to a great assemblage 
in " a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armaged- 
don " — the name being in the Hebrew tongue 
indicates the place to be in the Hebrew land i. e. 
Palestine. Closely connected with this gathering 
is the announcement, "Behold I come as a thief, 
blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his gar- 
ments." — Rev. xvi, 12-15. 

The intricacies of human policy are often over- 
ruled by Him who maketh the wrath of man 
praise Him, and so the movements of the Russians, 
the Turks, the Jews and the British, appear to be 
one grand system of signs, all converging to the 
formation of that crisis in Palestine which will 
bring the Lord Jesus personally upon the scene. 



220 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

We live in an age of rapid movements, and the 
advent crisis may be quickly formed. It will be 
sure to take the great stupid, sleepy, surfeiting, 
avaricious and wicked world entirely by surprise. 
1 Thes. v, 3, 4. But O, how ardently does the 
Christian yearn for that event ! and his fervent 
prayer is, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." 
" Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such 
things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him 
in peace, without spot and blameless." — 2 Pet. iii, 
14. Are you living still a worldling and without 
hope ? I beseech you to become a Christian with- 
out delay, lest you soon find repentance to be too 
late, and, like those in the parable, cry out "Lord, 
Lord, open unto us," after the door of mercy has 
been closed. That was a good prayer, and earnest 
enough, no doubt, but it was too late, 

" Procrastination is the thief of time ; 
Year after year it steals, till all are fled, 
And to the mercies of a moment leaves 
The vast concerns of an eternal scene. 
If not so frequent, would not this be strange ? 
That 'tis so frequent, this is stranger still." 

Too late is one of the most common causes of 
failure in life. One is too late to secure an educa- 
tion which was neglected in youth, and finds 
himself in riper age pressed by cares which pre- 
vent him from gathering up the lost opportunities. 
Another is too late to restore a constitution shat- 



AND THE SIGNS. 221 

tered by excess, and broods in despair over the 
folly that refused to be warned in time. A 
merchant is too late to avert a failure in business, 
and so the toil of years is lost by some calamity 
which a little timely precaution might have pre- 
vented. A patient dies because the physician is 
too late in coming to see him. I've read of a 
physician who committed suicide for a fault of this 
kind. Many have to lament concerning some dear 
one beneath the sod, " Oh ! if I had known sooner 
of such and such a remedy ; but now it is too 
late." 

Some of these mistakes, however, can be 
remedied in some degree ; but to be too late in 
securing salvation is to be too late forever. " Be- 
cause I called and ye refused. . . I also will laugh 
at your calamity, I will mock when your fear 
cometh." — Prov. i, 24, 26. For a long time your 
sins have provoked the Lord, and He has endured 
it — "These things hast thou done, and I kept 
silence " ; but the time is hastening when " Our 
God shall come and shall not keep silence; a fire shall 
devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestu- 
ous round about Him." — Psa. L, 3, 21. There is 
to be a fearful punishment for the wicked when 
the Lord comes, and is it wise to act as though 
indolence, thoughtlessness or neglect will save you 
from it ? As well suppose that shutting your eyes 
would protect you from the rage of a devouring 
lion, or that looking another way would prevent 



222 THE KINGDOM, THE CHURCH, 

your body from being pierced by a bullet or a 
sword. What is to be gained by delaying to be- 
come a Christian ? Will you become better by 
delay ? Evil men " wax worse and worse." 
Will your heart become more tender by long 
continuance in sin ? Beware lest you become so 
"accustomed to do evil" that your conscience 
become seared, and you find it as hard to do well 
as an Ethiopian to change his skin or a leopard 
his spots. Will the gospel ever be more powerful, 
Christ's blood more efficacious, or God's love any 
freer than now f Or will delay enable you at the 
hour of death to look upon a greater number of 
years devoted to the service of God ? You ought 
to want to give a long time to His service, and yet 
every moment that you lose in delaying to become 
a Christian brings you nearer the grave and 
shortens the time that you might spend in serving 
the Lord. Have you been anxious and distressed 
about your salvation, forgetting even to eat the 
victuals placed on your plate, or mingling every 
mouthful with your tears ? Come to Jesus ; be- 
lieve the gospel of the kingdom ; arise and be 
baptized and wash away thy sins. Thus you will 
be " a new creature," and the Saviour will extend 
to you peace like a flowing stream, even that 
heavenly peace which the world cannot give and 
cannot take away. 

Do not put off baptism until warmer weather ; you 
cannot put off death in that way. Do you hesitate 



AND THE SIGNS. 223 

because baptism seems a slight inconvenience to the 
flesh ? It can be nothing to compare with what 
the Saviour endured for you, when, surrounded by 
scoffing enemies, He expired, all pierced and bleed- 
ing, on the cross. 

[From " Songs of Zion."] 

How blest are all that hither come ; 

And mindful of His word, 
Are planted in the wat'ry tomb : 

For so was Christ the Lord. 

Then rising from the cleansing wave, 

A holy life to lead, 
They will His aid and comfort have 

In ev'ry time of need. 

For scenes like this there's joy among 

The Angels bright above ; 
And on the earth, in sacred song, 

We praise redeeming love. 



TENTH DISCOURSE. 



THE SECOND ADVENT, THE MILLENNIUM, AND 
THE STATE BEYOND. 

" They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." — 

Eev. xx; 4. 

That the Lord Jesus will personally and visibly 
come to this earth again is a truth so generally 
admitted that but little argument is needed on the 



224 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

subject. I will, however, quote a few testimonies 
in proof of it. Predictions of His two comings 
run like two golden threads throughout the Old 
Testament — the first as an humble Sufferer, the 
next as a royal Conquerer. Hence Peter says the 
prophets " testified beforehand the sufferings of 
Christ, and the glories following these," tas meta 
tauta doxas, — 1 Pet. i, 11. The first promise of 
redemption implies both comings— the first, at 
which the serpent was to bruise his heel ; the 
second, at which He will bruise or crush the ser- 
pent's head. — Gen. iii, 15. Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam, prophesied, " Behold, the Lord 
cometh with ten thousand of His saints " ; and 
Jude refers this prophecy to the future judgment. 
Jude 14. Job says, " He shall stand at the latter 
day upon the earth; and though after my skin 
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I 
see God." — Job xix, 25-27. The margin says, 
" After I shall awake," i. e. by a resurrection, as 
the word is used elsewhere, " Many that sleep in 
the dust of the earth shall awake" — Dan. xii, 2. 
"I go that I may awake him." — John xi, 11. 
When can that standing upon the earth be except 
at the resurrection, when " the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven and the dead in Christ shall 
rise"?— 1 Thes. iv, 16, 17. "Our God shall 
come, and shall not keep silence ; a fire shall de- 
vour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous 
round about Him. . . Gather my saints together 



AND STATE BEYOND. 225 

unto me." — Psa. l, 3, 4. Paul evidently refers to 
the same event as " the coming of oar Lord Jesus 
Christ, in flaming fire, and our gathering together 
unto Him."— 2 Thes. i, 7, 8 ; ii, 1. " And His 
feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of 
Olives , which is before Jerusalem on the east." — 
Zee. xiv, 4, 5. " The place of His throne, and the 
place of the soles of His feet" will be in the New 
Jerusalem on earth. — Eze. xliii, 7 ; Rev. xxii, 3. 
Two trees, when some distance off in front of you, 
if viewed nearly on a line with each other, will 
not seem so far apart as they really are. But on 
placing yourself .between them you see the real 
distance. So we are now living between the ad- 
vents, looking back on the one and forward to the 
other. But the prophets who lived before both 
advents often delineated them somewhat perspect- 
ively, and nearly in the same breath, without 
describing the long interval between ; so that, to 
the careless reader, events belonging to the first 
advent seem almost to blend with events belonging 
to the second. — See Isa. ix, 6, 7 ; Zee. ix, 9, 10; 
Mic. v, 2. 

Turning now to the New Testament, His advent 
as a suiferer becomes a matter of history, while 
His future advent as a royal Conquerer still 
remains a prediction, and is foretold in clear and 
glowing language. "They shall see the Son of 
Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory." — Mat. xxiv, 30. * The bride- 



226 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

groom came, and they that were ready went in 
with him to the marriage." " After a long time 
the Lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth 
with them." — Mat. xxv, 10, 19. " When he was 
returned, having received the kingdom, he com- 
manded those servants to be called." — Lu. xix, 15. 
In these three parables, if the going away was literal 
so must the return be. And this reminds us of 
the testimony given when He literally and visibly 
ascended from the mount of Olives — " This same 
Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him 
go into heaven." — Ac. i, 11. Surety this ought to 
be an end of controversy on the subject. If He 
ascended visibly and personally, he must come 
visibly and personally. And with wonderful har- 
mony this prophecy of the two white-robed mes- 
sengers agrees with thai in Zechariah xiv, 4, which 
declares that u His feet shall stand in that day 
upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem 
on the east." This is the identical mountain from 
which He ascended. I once heard that some 
preacher said, " It would be egregious nonsense to 
say that the Lord Jesus will ever come to this 
cursed earth again." I dislike to repeat such lan- 
guage, except to show how entirely opposed it is 
to the Bible; for, after the testimonies already 
produced, we see that it would be egregious non- 
sense to say that He will not come to this earth 
again. Would that the whole of the Episcopal 



AND STATE BEYOND. 227 

creed were as true as the 4feh article, which says, 
" Christ did truly rise again from death, and took 
again His body, with flesh, bones, and all things 
appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, 
wheretvith He ascended into heaven, and there 
sitteth, until He return to judge all men at the 
last day." This is not mortal and corruptible but 
immortal and incorruptible "flesh and bones." — 
Lu. xxiv, 39. It does not read " flesh and blood," 
for Spirit becomes the vitalizing element in the 
bodies of the risen saints, which will be " fash- 
ioned like unto " that of their Lord. — Phil, iii, 21. 
Such a body will have " flesh and bones, and all 
things appertaining to the perfection" but nothing 
to the imperfections of man's nature. 

The fact that the Lord's Supper is still an ordi- 
nance of the church is proof that the Lord has 
not yet come " a second time," for " as oft as ye 
eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the 
Lord's death till He corned — 1 Cor. xi, 26 ; Heb. 
ix, 28. Hence the constant attitude of the Chris- 
tian is that of " looking for " and " waiting for " 
His return, nor can any but those who " love His 
appearing " have a well-grounded hope of obtain- 
ing the " crown of righteousness." — Heb. ix, 28 ; 
1 Thes. i, 10 ; 2 Tim. iv, 8. Death is not the 
Lord's coming, for when the early Christians talked 
of one's tarrying " till He come," they meant that 
such an one should not die. — John xxi, 22, 23. 
And they were perfectly right in this, for Paul 



228 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

himself repeatedly taught it — " We shall not all 
sleep/' but some will be " alive and remain unto 
the coming of the Lord/' and these, together with 
the risen saints, will be caught away to meet the 
Lord.— 1 Cor. xv, 51 ; 1 Thes. iv, 15, 16, 17. 
Thus believers who are then dead shall live, and 
those who are then alive " shall never die." — John 
xi, 26. Death is near, but the Lord's coming may 
be nearer. Let one more quotation suffice to prove 
the Lord's literal and personal coming — "The 
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with 
the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall 
rise first; then we which are alive and remain 
shall be caught up together with them in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord." — 1 Thes. iv, 16, 17 * 
Here is the personal descent of the Lord himself, 
and the righteous dead are personally and literally 
raised, and, together with those who are personally 
and literally alive and remain, they are caught 
away to meet the Lord. This is a personal meet- 
ing, a personal resurrection and a personal descent 
of the Lord; and it would be wickedly torturing 
Scripture to try to give it a mystified or figurative 
meaning. The mere expression " to meet," eis 



* '' So far were the early Christians from regarding their 
departed brethren as anticipating them in entering glory, 
that they needed to be assured that those who remain to the 
coming of the Lord will not anticipate them that are asleep." 
^-Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett & Brown. 



AND STATE BEYOND. 229 

apantesin, proves it personal, for that is its mean- 
ing in its three other occurrences in the New 
Testament. — Mat. xxvi, 1, 6 ; Ac. xxviii, 15. 

That the Millennium (the period of one thou- 
sand years mentioned six times in Rev. xx) does 
not commence until after the Lord Jesus comes, is 
evident from the following reasons : — 

1st. During the entire absence of the Bridegroom 
the Church is represented as in a mourning and 
fasting state that does not accord with millennial 
prosperity and glory. "Jesus said unto them, 
Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn as 
long as the Bridegroom is with them? but the 
days w T ill come when the Bridegroom shall be taken 
from them, and then shall they fast." — Mat. ix, 
15. At the return of the Bridegroom, however, 
the great command goes forth, " Let us be glad and 
rejoice, and give honor to Him ; for the marriage 
of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made 
herself ready." — Rev. xix, 7. The parable of the 
ten virgins proves that return to be personal; 
hence the mourning and fasting period extends to 
the personal advent, instead of ending a thousand 
years before it. — Mat. xxv, 1-10. This argument 
alone is enough to prove that we can have no 
millennial glory so long as the Bridegroom is 
away; but the glorious Millennium will most 
appropriately follow His return. 

2nd. And, most plainly, as the coming of the 
heavenly Bridegroom does not find the Church in 



230 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

a millennial but a mourning state, so neither does 
it find the world in a millennial state, but as it was 
in the days of Noah (i. e. " filled with violence" in- 
stead of " knowledge of the Lord." — Gen. vi, 13; 
Isa. xi, 9). It will be like Sodom and Gomorrha. 
The wheat and tares will be growing together, 
and scarcely any of " the faith on the earth." — 
Lu. xvii, 26-30 ; xviii, 8 ; Mat. xiii, 30. The 
Greek definite article here refers to the true faith. 
No doubt He will find much false or unscriptural 
faith, for that abounds. After such plain declara- 
tions as this, how can any one doubt the pre- 
millennial advent? 

3rd. The Scripture has not said that the gospel 
would convert all nations among whom it was 
preached, but the purpose of God in sending it to 
them was " to take out of them a people for His 
name." Hence we are not to expect the conversion 
of all nations under the gospel dispensation. — Ac. 
xv, 14. 

4th. If the gospel of the kingdom, when car- 
ried into all the world by the apostles, did not 
millennialize even one nation, though aided by the 
gift of tongues and working of miracles, how can it 
hereafter be expected to millennialize all nations 
without those aids ? It is when the judgments of 
the Lord are " made manifest " by the conquering 
power of the returned Messiah, that the remnant 
of the inhabitants of the world " will learn right- 
eousness," after vast numbers of them shall have 



AND STATE BEYOND. 231 

been destroyed. — Rev. xv, 4 ; Isa. xxvi, 9 ; Psa. 
lviii, 10, 11 ; Zee. xiv, 16. The kingdom to be 
established in the covenanted land, though like a 
mustard-seed or leaven at first, will quickly grow 
and spread by miraculous conquest, and " fill the 
whole earth." 

5th. "The whole world lieth in wickedness," 
and " all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall 
suffer persecution." — 1 Jno. v, 19; 2 Tim. iii, 12. 
This is perfectly appropriate to a sinning world 
and a suffering church ; and no doubt it will be 
appropriate until the Saviour comes. But would 
it be at all applicable to a millennial dispensation 
when Satan is bound, the world converted, and 
persecution has ceased? 

6th. The blessed Saviour, in giving an outline 
of events from His first until His second coming, 
has described a long period of tribulations and 
wrath upon the Jews, and also the downtreading 
of Jerusalem " until the times of the Gentiles be 
fulfilled." Now it must be admitted that the joy- 
ful millennium will not commence until that 
tribulation ends. And yet it is " IMMEDIATE- 
LY," and not a thousand years, after that tribula- 
tion ends that the signs of the second advent are 
seen. Hence there is no room for the Millennium 
between the advent and the tribulation ; the advent 
must therefore be £>re-millennial. To obtain a 
clear view of the prophecy in a few words, read it 
in this order — " There shall be great distress in the 



232 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

land and wrath upon this people. And they shall 
fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led 
away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall 
be trodden down of the Gentiles jintil the times of 
the Gentiles be fulfillled (Lu. xxi, 23, 24). Im- 
mediately after the tribulation of those days shall 
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give 
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and 
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken ; and 
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in 
heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth 
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming 
in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
glory."— Matt, xxiv, 29, 30.* 

7th. And as the Saviour did not predict a 
Millennium of rest and triumph between the first 
and second advent, neither did Paul predict such 
a season as obtaining before the advent, but rather 
a great apostasy from the faith, which would last 
until the Lord's coming. — 2 Thes. ii, 1-8. The 
word coming in v. 8 is parousia the same word 
that in v. 1 is translated "coming;" which coming 
(in v. 1) the "Comprehensive Commentary" says, 
" All the best commentators, ancient and modern, 
understand of Christ's second advent." It must 



* " The important insertion of ver. 23, 24 in Luke shows us 
that the tribulation includes wrath on this people which is yet 
being inflicted, and the treading down of Jerusalem by the 
Gentiles still going on." — Alfoed. 



AND STATE BEYOND. 233 

therefore mean the same in v. 8 where it is com- 
bined with another word which also signifies a 
personal appearing. That word is epiphaneia, here 
rendered " brightness," but in its five other occur- 
rences it is translated " appearing." — 1 Tim. vi, 4; 
2 Tim. i 10, and iv, i, 8 ; Titus ii, 13. Parousia 
also means a personal coming, as " the coming 
{parousia) of Stephanas, Fortunatus," <fec, who 
brought substantial help to Paul. — 1 Cor. xvi, 17. 
Either of these words is held sufficient in other 
passages to prove a real and personal appearing 
and presence. And when both are united as in the 
case before us, how is it possible that they should 
mean anything less than the literal, real and 
personal arrival and presence of the Lord Jesus ? 
Thus we find no room for a millennium between 
Paul's day and the personal advent, but the mys- 
tery of iniquity which did already work was to 
continue its desolating career until destroyed at 
the Lord's coming. 

8th. So also in John's prophecy. The Bible 
does not speak of an eighth trumpet. Hence I 
conclude that the seventh trumpet of which John 
speaks is " the last trumpet " at which time Paul 
says " the Lord himself shall descend from heaven," 
and the dead in Christ arise. — 1 Cor. xv, 52, with 
1 Thes. iv, 16. John places the resurrection, &c, 
under the seventh trumpet which, I think, suffi- 
ciently identifies it with the last trumpet of Paul. — 
Rev. xi, 15-18. Now the argument is this, that, 



234 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

up to the sounding of the seventh trumpet is a 
scene of wars, commotions, 'persecutions, and suffer- 
ings, with no room nor interspace for thrusting in 
edgewise a thousand years of peace and prosperity ; 
and the seventh trumpet itself is "the third woe" — 
Rev. xi, 14. Hence that period must come after 
the seventh trumpet, and therefore after the advent 
and resurrection. Now if it would be absurd to 
say that the seventh trumpet is not sounded until 
the end of the millennium, would it not be equally 
so to say that the advent does not occur till the end 
of the millennium ? I think this argument alone 
concerning the seventh trumpet is enough to prove 
the advent ^re-millennial. Here is how the 
" Comprehensive Commentary " describes the ar- 
rangement of the seals, trumpets and vials, (an 
arrangement followed very closely, I believe, by 
the best modern writers on the Apocalypse, from 
Vitringa of the 17th to Dr. Thomas of the 19th 
century) — " Fraser thus expresses the arrangement 
recommended by Vitringa, and now generally 
adopted. The series of events is carried on in 
the Apocalypse, by seven seals opened in their 
order, seven trumpets sounded in the*'" order, .and 
seven vials poured out in their order. The seven 
trumpets are the evolution of the seventh seal, the 
seven vials are the evolution of the seventh trumpet. 
The seventh vial introduces the Millennium." — 
Vol. v. 

Let me call your attention to this chart which 



AND STATE BEYOND. 



235 



THE SEVEN SEALS. 


2 


1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 


7. 


P 




The Seven Trumpets. 


523 

H 
,1 




1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 


7. 


h3 

M 






The 7 Vials. 








1,2,3,4,5,6,7. 


H 



I have drawn up to show the beautiful and system- 
atic manner in which the seals, trumpets and vials 
are planned. You perceive that the seven trum- 
pets fall under the seventh seal as so many parts 
or subdivisions of that seal, and the seven vials 
fall under the seventh trumpet as so many parts 
or subdivisions of that trumpet. The six seals, 
like so many chapters of history, are supposed to 
extend from about A.D. 98 to the overthrow of 
the Pagan Roman empire, about A.D. 324. Then 
the seventh seal, containing the seven trumpets, is 
said to begin, and to extend to the Millennium. 
The six trumpets, like so many chapters under 
that seal, are supposed to extend to the French 
revolution, about A.D. 1789. Then the seventh 
trumpet, containing the seven vials, is said to 
begin its course (called "the days of the voice 
of the seventh angel," Rev. x, 7.) and extend 
to the Millennium. The seven vials, like seven 
chapters of the world's history are thought to com- 
mence about A.D. 1789 and run on till the sixth, 



236 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

under which is made the startling announcement 
of the advent (and hence of the resurrection also) 
in these words, "behold i come as a thief, 

BLESSED IS HE THAT WATCHETH AND KEEPETH 

his garments." — Rev. xvi, 12-15. 

After the advent the saints, immortalized then, 
unite with Christ in executing the seventh vial 
upon the wicked inhabitants of the earth. Being 
then invested with the promised " power over the 
nations" (Rev. ii, 26, 27). they will attend the 
Messiah as His "called, and chosen, and faithful" 
ones when He marches forth to His miraculous 
conquest of the world. — Rev. xvii, 14 ; xix, 14. 
" To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and 
punishment upon the people ; to bind their kings 
with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ; 
to execute upon them the judgment written : this 
honour have all His saints." — Psa. cxlix, 7-9. 
Kings must always conquer a hostile country before 
they can reign over it ; and so that fearful period 
of conquest, rapid and miraculous, will precede 
the blessed and peaceful millennial reign. Thus 
we find no room in John's prophecy for a thousand 
years of peace and triumph before the Lord's 
coming. 

9th. Daniel describes four great empires closely 
succeeding one another, and rooted in the head of 
the fourth is a little horn, or persecuting power, 
that "makes war with the saints and prevails 
against them until the Ancient of days comes." — 



AND STATE BEYOND. 237 

Dan. vii, 19-22. He does not say " until a thous- 
and years before the Ancient of days comes." Of 
course the little horn will have to cease making 
war with the saints and prevailing against them 
before the Millennium can begin ; but it does not 
cease before Christ comes, who, I suppose, is here 
called the Ancient of days because " His goings 
forth have been from of old" and He will come 
clothed "in the glory of His Father." — Mic. v, 2; 
Mat. xxv, 31. In the same manner Paul too has 
put the destruction of the persecuting power at the 
coming of the Lord. — 2 Thes. ii, 8. Thus I find 
neither in the prophecy of Daniel nor Paul any 
space or room for the Millennium before the 
advent. 

10th. If you will study the 14th chapter of 
Zechariah I think that you will find that chapter 
to be an invulnerable fortress of proof that the 
Lord Jesus will come before the Millennium.* 
Verses 4 and 5 plainly describe the second advent, 
in saying, " The Lord my God shall COME, and all 
the saints with thee" Notice too the marginal 
references on that sentence : in my Bible they are 
Mat. xvi, 27; xxiv, 30, 31; xxv, 31; Jude 14. All 
these references relate to the second coming. The 



* The American Tract Society's Notes here say, " This 
chapter describes the last great conflict of God's church 
with her enemies." There will, however, be a later conflict 
—that which occurs at the end of the Millennium. — Eev. 
xi, 9. 



238 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

first (Mat. xvi, 27) shows it to be the time of reward- 
ing the righteous, and this identifies it with the 
seventh trumpet period, in Rev. xi, 15-18. Then, 
after describing several wonderful changes in the 
mount of Olives and adjacent country which have 
never yet occurred, and the mere naming of which 
proves that the prophet is not referring to any past 
coming, he proceeds in verses 12-15 to describe the 
great overthow of wicked persons that will occur 
in the vicinity of Jerusalem at the advent. Neither 
does history record any such overthrow as this at 
any time in the past; it must he future. And then, 
AFTER the advent and AFTER that conquest 
of nations, the prophet goes on in verses 16-21 to 
describe the glorious millennial age of peace and 
blessedness when the " left " or spared remnant of 
the nations shall flock to Jerusalem " from year to 
year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and 
to keep the feast of tabernacles." This implies 
the deliverance of Jerusalem and the establishment 
of the kingdom of God over the entire earth, two 
events which the prophet had merely glanced at in 
verses 9 and 11. 

Absurdly enough some have imagined that the 
gathering of u all nations against Jerusalem, verse 
2, was fulfilled at the Roman invasion. But this 
is only a partial captivity, for " HALF of the 
city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue 
of the people shall NOT be cut off from the city." 
The Roman invasion does not at all agree with this, 



AND STATE BEYOND. 239 

for then the whole city was destroyed, nor was the 
Roman nation all nations. Josephus says, "As 
soon as the army had no more people to slay, or to 
plunder, because there remained none to be the 
objects of their fury (for they would not have 
spared any had there remained any other such 
work to be done), Caesar gave orders that they 
should demolish the whole city and temple, except 
the western wall of the city, and the three highest 
towers, Phaselus, Hippicus, and Mariamne; but 
for all the rest of the wall, it was laid so completely 
even with the ground, by those who dug it up to 
the foundation, that there was nothing left to make 
those who came hither believe that it was ever 
inhabited." Scott says, " The Roman victors for- 
bade any Jew to dwell in their ancient inheritance, 
or to come within sight of Jerusalem ; the founda- 
tions of the old city were ploughed up." 

If one will "rightly divide the word of truth" 
he can perceive that by the Roman invasion was 
fulfilled, not the prophecy of Zechariah, but of 
Micah — " Therefore shall Zion for your sake be 
plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become 
heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high 
places of the forest" — Mic. iii, 12. I believe that 
the Saviour's feet will as literally and truly stand 
on the Mount of Olives at His return, verse 4, as 
they did when He was formerly here. Certainly 
He literally ascended from that mountain, and will 
so come in like manner. — Ac. i, 11, To say that 



240 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

verse 4 was fulfilled at the Roman invasion by the 
standing of the feet of Titus on the Mount of 
Olives would be a monstrous torture and perver- 
sion of this prophecy. And besides, the great earth- 
quake, rending the mountain and forming a " very 
great valley " between, did not occur when Titus 
invaded Jerusalem ; it is an undivided mountain 
to this day, and will remain so till the Lord comes. 
Notice, too, that no such perennial streams are now 
flowing out east and west from Jerusalem as verse 
8 describes ; and this also shows the prophecy 
remains to be accomplished. It proves, too, that 
the earth will not be blotted out of existence when 
He comes, for " summer and winter " will still go 
on, during which those two rivers will run, the 
one to the Mediterranean and the other to the 
Dead Sea. The going of " all nations " to Jeru- 
salem once a year (verse 16) was not fulfilled under 
the Mosaic dispensation, for that required the Jews 
alone to go thither for worship ; and they had to 
go thrice a year. — Deut. xvi, 16. Nor does the 
compelling of all nations to go to Jerusalem to 
worship, and the withholding of rain from the 
wicked, apply to the present dispensation, for the 
Lord now " sendeth rain on the just and on the 
unjust" (Mat. v, 45), and no nation is required to 
go to Jerusalem to worship. These predictions, 
therefore, must belong to a dispensation yet to come, 
the Millennium, after the advent. 

11th. How can the resurrected saints reign 



AND STATE BEYOND. 241 

during the Millennium (Rev. xx, 4), unless those 
two inseparable events — the advent and resurrec- 
tion — take place before it? One of the classes to 
be raised will be " them that were beheaded'" Now 
if the beheading be literal, why not the rising also ? 
If there were any doubt about the literalness of the 
rising from the dead, that doubt ought to be set 
aside by the explanation which the Spirit here 
gives of the vision — " This is the first resurrection" 
I conclude that the word resurrection (anastasis) is 
twice used here in its most literal sense ; for, if 
there be any enigma in the preceding verses, it is 
certainly not customary to explain an enigma in 
language thai is itself enigmatical, or to explain 
one figurative expression by another equally figu- 
rative. That the first resurrection includes all the 
righteous dead, we learn from other and supple- 
mentary portions of Scripture. — 1 Cor. xv, 23 ; 1 
Thes. iv, 16. " The resurrection of the just" is a 
" resurrection (ek nekron) from among the dead" 
as the Greek implies, and hence it is a first resur- 
rection, for it leaves other dead remaining in the 
grave till the end of the Millenium. — Lu. xiv, 14 ; 
xx, 35. Those who shall rise first are firstborns, 
prototokoi. — Heb. xii, 23. How could the first 
resurrection be only the reviving of a martyr-like 
disposition, seeing that Satan will then be bound, 
and no one left to act the part of persecutor; 
martyrdom implies severe persecution. Those 
who talk of such a reviving, basing their notion 
11 



242 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

on the case of Elijah and John, ought to first be 
able to prove that any inspired writer has ever 
once declared the coming of John to be the resur- 
rection of Elijah. As to the word "souls," the 
Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett and Brown 
very truly says, " Souls is often used in general 
for persons, and even for dead bodies" In Num. 
ix, 6, 7, where the English has " dead body of a 
man," the Greek has psuche anthropou, " soul of a 
man." Balaam said, " Let me (Greek, hee psuche 
mou, ' the soul of me/ margin 6 my soul ') die 
the death of the righteous." — Num. xxiii, 10. 
If then " the soul of me " means " me " in that 
place, why should not " the souls of them " mean 
"them" in this place? When we read that 
" eight souls " were saved in the ark, does anybody 
imagine that their bodies were not saved ? Here 
let me quote what one or two modern writers have 
to say as to the manner of interpreting these 
verses (Rev. xx, 4-6). Bishop Newton, an Epis- 
copalian, born 1704, says, " This prophecy remains 
to be fulfilled, even though the resurrection be 
taken only for an allegory, which yet the text 
cannot admit without the greatest torture and vio- 
lence." Dean Alford, probably the greatest scholar 
which the Episcopal Church has had in its 
communion for a long time, says, "Those who 
lived next to the apostles, and the WHOLE 
church for three hundred years understood 
these verses in the PLAIN and LITERAL sense. 



AND STATE BEYOND. 243 

As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment 
of it will extort what is known as the spiritual 
interpretation now in fashion. If the first resur- 
rection is spiritual, then so is the second, which I 
suppose none will be hardy enough to maintain; 
but if the second is literal, then so is the first, 
which, in common with the whole primitive 
church and many of the best modern expositors, 
I do maintain and receive as an article of faith and 
hope." 

12th. To affirm that Christ will not come till 
the end of the Millennium is daring to affirm that 
He will not come for a thousand years yet, inas- 
much as we know the Millennium has not begun. 
This putting off the advent a thousand years is 
contrary to the watching, waiting and expectant 
attitude which Christians are required to main- 
tain. " Watch ye, therefore ; for ye know not 
when the Master of the house cometh, at even, 
or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the 
morning ; lest coming suddenly He find you sleej)- 
ing. Let your loins be girded about, and your 
lights burning ; and ye yourselves like unto men 
that wait for their Lord, when he will return from 
the wedding; that when he cometh andknocketh, 
they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are 
those servants whom the lord when he cometh 
shall find watching" — Mark xiii, 35, 36 ; Lu. 
xii, 35, 36, 37. 

These twelve overwhelming reasons are but a 



244 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

fragment of the evidence which might be brought 
in proof that the personal coming of the Lord 
Jesus will occur before the Millennium. Having 
proved from Scripture that the advent will take 
place before the Millennium, allow me, before 
closing this part of the subject, to glance briefly at 
the history of this doctrine. Eusebius, born in 
Palestine about A.D. 270, and who is called " the 
father of ecclesiastical history," tells us that Papias 
said, " That there will be a Millennium after the 
resurrection from the dead, when the personal reign 
of Christ will be established on this earth." — 
Hist. Eccles. iii, 39. Irenseus informs us that Papias 
was " the hearer of John and a companion of 
Polyearp." — Against Heresies, B. v, ch. xxxiii, 
Clark's edition. Those advocating this in modern 
times are called Premillennarians, and those who 
think the advent will not occur till after the Mil- 
lennium are called Postmillennarians. On the 
doctrine of Premillennarians the " Dictionary of 
Religious Knowledge," by Abbott and Conant, 
says, " These views may be traced to the earliest 
history of the church, and were advocated by the 
fathers up to the 4th century. They then de- 
clined, till the Reformation gave them a new 
impulse, since which time they have prevailed 
through the entire church to a large extent." 
Macauley, the historian, in his essay on the Jews, 
remarks, " The Christian believes, as well as the 
Jew, that at some future period the present order 



AND STATE BEYOND. 245 

of things will come to an end. Nay, many 
Christians believe that the Messiah will shortly 
establish a kingdom on the earth, and reign visibly 
over all its inhabitants. The number of people 
who hold it is very much greater than the num- 
ber of Jews residing in England. Many of those 
who hold it are distinguished by rank, wealth and 
ability. It is preached from the pulpits both of 
the Scottish and English churches. Noblemen 
and members of Parliament have written in de- 
fence of it. They expect that before this genera- 
tion shall pass away, all the kingdoms of the earth 
will be swallowed up in one divine empire." On 
the 30th and 31st of October and 1st of November, 
1878, a great "Prophetic Conference" assembled 
in New York and agreed on the following among 
other resolutions : — 

" II. The prophetic words of the Old Testament 
Scriptures, concerning the first coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, were literally fulfilled in His birth, 
life, death, resurrection and ascension ; and so the 
prophetic words of both the Old and New Testa- 
ments concerning His second coming will be 
literally fulfilled in His visible bodily return to 
this earth in like manner as He went up into 
heaven ; and this glorious Epiphany of the great 
God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, is the blessed 
hope of the believer and of the Church during 
this entire dispensation." 

" III. This second coming of the Lord Jesus is 



246 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

everywhere in the Scriptures represented as immi- 
nent, and may occur at any moment; yet the 
precise day and hour thereof is unknown to man, 
and known only to God." 

"IV. The Scriptures nowhere teach that the 
whole world will be converted to God, and that 
there will be a reign of universal righteousness 
and peace before the return of our blessed Lord." 

The conference was composed of prominent 
members of the following denominations : — Bap- 
tist, Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian and 
Episcopal. 

It is very important to remember that although 
there will be a very great destruction of the un- 
godly at the advent, yet mortal nations in a 
probationary state will exist on earth during the 
Millennium, and subject to the laws of that 
dispensation. Thus during the first thousand years 
after the Lord Jesus takes possession of the earth 
there will be a glorious fulfillment of the promise 
made to Abraham — " Thy Seed shall possess the 
gate of His enemies ; and in thy Seed shall all the 
nations of the earth be blessed." — Gen. xxii, 17, 18. 
As in the promise, so in its fulfillment, the blessing 
comes after the taking possession of the gate of 
His enemies i. e. after His conquest of the world. 
In His sending the Gospel to the Gentiles and 
taking out of them a people for His name the Seed 
of Abraham gives an individual foretaste of the 
national blessedness which the world will enjoy 



AND STATE BEYOND. 247 

during the Millennium, which will be the grand 
fulfillment of that promise. As to the present 
condition of the nations, it has been estimated that 
about 800,000,000 of people are now bowing down 
to stocks and stones. There is "a vail that is spread 
over all nations," both Jews and Gentiles. — Isa. 
xxv, 7. Darkness covers the earth, and gross 
darkness the people. — Isa. lx, 2. "The whole 
world lieth in wickedness." — 1 Jno. v, 19. " All 
nations " are " deceived " by Satan and by the sorce- 
ries of Babylon. — Rev. xviii, 23. But in the 
Millennial age, after the fearful judgments of the 
second advent are over, and Christ has entered 
upon His peaceful personal reign, this promised 
blessedness will be realized in its fullness ; for then 
Satan shall be bound so " that he shall deceive the 
nations no more till the thousand years shall 
be be fulfilled." Then " the Gentiles shall come 
unto the Lord from the ends of the earth, and shall 
say "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, 
and things wherein there is no profit." — Jer. xvi, 
19. Also the Beast and the False Prophet will 
have been destroyed in the lake of fire. — Rev. 
xix, 20; xx, 3. And "at that time they shall 
call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ; and all the 
nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of 
the Lord, to Jerusalem ; neither shall they walk 
any more after the imagination of their evil heart."— 
Jer. iii, 17. Yea "All nations shall flow unto it. 
. . . Nation shall not lift up sword against nation ; 



248 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

neither shall they learn war any more." — Isa. ii, 
2-4. " Every one that is left of all the nations 
which came against Jerusalem shall even go up 
from year to year to worship the King, the Lord 
of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." — 
Zee. xiv, 16. "All people, nations and languages 
shall serve Him." — Dan. vii, 14. "All nations 
shall come and worship before " Him. — Rev. xv, 4. 
Remember, these testimonies are the voice of Scrip- 
ture ; they must be fulfilled. And you must con- 
fess that when they are fulfilled in the future 
millennial state of the world "all nations" will 
indeed be blessed religiously, politically, socially, 
and even physically, as they have never been 
blessed before. But of course we are not to sup- 
pose that the now deceased heathen will be raised 
from the dead and allowed to enjoy that probation 
and blessedness, for they died as they lived, "with- 
out hope" being " alienated from the life of God 
through the ignorance that was in them." And 
hence they have no part in "the first resurrection." 
— Ephes. ii, 12; iv. 18. 

The millennial subjugation of all nations implies 
that of the Jews also, and the bringing of them 
under the sceptre of Messiah after their conver- 
sion. The title " King of the Jews " is one of 
the gems treasured up in "the unsearchable riches 
of Christ," and is destined yet to be worn upon 
His divine brow, and thence to scintillate its holy 
light over a subdued and peaceful world. They 



AND STATE BEYOND. 249 

have now been abiding " many days without a 
king" (Hos. iii, 4, 5), but the Father has declared 
the Son to be a " Governor that shall rule my 
people Israel." — Mat. ii, 2, 6 ; John i, 49. Their 
rejection of Him at His first is no proof that they 
will do the same at His second coming. They re- 
jected Moses at the first } but submitted to him at 
the second time, he being then clothed with power 
to destroy their enemies. " Thy people shall be 
willing in the day of thy 'power" — Psa. ex, 3. 
There seems to be a typical meaning in the re- 
markable fact that " at the second time Joseph was 
made known to his brethren." — Ac. vii, 13. 
Moses and Joseph were typical of Christ in some 
things, especially, I think, in this. When they 
accept the returning Messiah as their King they 
will indeed have a Governor " from the midst of 
them," and a King " whom the Lord hath 
chosen." — Jer.xxx, 21 ; Deut. xvii, 15. Prophecy 
affords abundant testimony to the future conversion 
and restoration of Israel. " He that scattered 
Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd 
doth his flock." — Jer. xxxi, 10. If this means the 
literal Israel scattered from the literal land, must 
it not also mean the literal Israel gathered to the 
literal land ? Their national conversion and 
restoration of course does not mean the eternal 
salvation of every individual Jew that ever 
lived. Their national deliverance from Egypt 
was not a deliverance of every individual Jew 



250 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

who had ever died and been buried in Egypt. 
Concerning the restoration, Micah is very plain 
and unmistakable. In describing a state of 
things, which all who are even slightly acquainted 
with history must admit has never yet obtained, 
and which belongs only to the glorious days of 
Messiah's reign, Micah says: : — "And he shall 
judge many people, and rebuke strong nations 
afar off; and they shall beat their swords into 
plough-shares and their spears into pruning-hooks ; 
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war any more. But they 
shall sit every man under his vine and under his 
fig tree, and none shall make them afraid, for the 
mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. . . . 
In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her 
that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted. 
And I will make her that halted a remnant, and 
her that was cast far off a strong nation, and the 
Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from 
henceforth even forever." — iv, 3, 4, 6, 7. 

Remember that this is the same Micah who a 
few verses after predicted that our Lord would be 
born in Bethlehem; and as his Bethlehem is a 
literal Bethlehem in the land of Judea, so we must 
conclude that his Zion will be a literal Zion in the 
same land. 

By " her that halted " and " her that is driven 
out" is meant the Jewish nation, driven out of 
the land, and i( led away captive into all nations " 



AND STATE BEYOND. 251 

for their many sins. But that since their last 
dispersion they have never been thus assembled 
and gathered and made a strong nation is evident 
from their present dispersed and weak condition ; 
and also from the intensely warlike condition of 
the other nations. For contemporaneously or " in 
that day " of Israel's gathering, the rest of man- 
kind, even including " strong nations afar off," 
shall be rebuked into peace, so that they shall 
beat their swords into plough-shares and their 
spears into pruning-hooks, neither will they learn 
war any more. All the military schools, arsenals, 
conscriptions, militia, and volunteer companies 
found among the "strong nations " of the earth, 
declare as with loud-mouthed artillery tones that 
such a state of things has not yet obtained. More- 
over we are bound to conclude that when the 
nations are thus at peace, and Israel thus restored, 
the Lord will reign over them in mount Zion just 
as literally as he was born in Bethlehem. 

Whatever partial restoration of Jews to Palestine 
may have taken place it cannot be the one here 
spoken of by Micah who is foretelling a final 
restoration and settlement, inasmuch as it is to be 
"forever" That word "forever" puts a stop to 
their wanderings, and shuts out the idea of any 
subsequent dispersion, such as that by the Romans 
in A.D. 70. And since Micah's testimony that 
" the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion 
from henceforth even forever" is in almost the 



252 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

exact words of Gabriel's, " He shall reign over the 
house of Jacob forever" the great truth is made to 
flash upon our minds that both are alluding to the 
same grand epoch, and describing a state of things 
future even at the birth of Christ 

"Therefore behold the days come, saith the 
Lord, that they shall no more say the Lord liveth 
which brought up the children of Israel out of the 
land of Egypt ; but the Lord liveth which brought 
up, and which led the seed of the house of Israel 
out of the north country, and from all countries 
whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell 
in their own land." Jer. xxiii, 7, 8 ; Isa. xi, 11, 12 ; 
xliii, 1, 7 ; xlix, 22, 26 ; Jer. xxx, 8, 9; xxxi; Hos. 
iii, 4, 5. This great national restoration under 
Christ as their King will, as a necessary conse- 
quence, be attended with their national conversion 
to Christ. Thus Paul in speaking beyond a doubt 
of this event, says, "Blindness in part has happened 
to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come 
in." "And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is 
written. There shall come out of Zion the De- 
lieverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob." — Rom. xi, 25, 26. " And it shall come 
to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His 
hand again the second time to recover the remnant 
of His people which shall be left, from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, 
and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Ha- 
math, and from the islands of the sea." — Isaiah 



AND STATE BEYOND. 253 

xi, 11. On this verse the Commentary of Jamieson, 
Faussett & Brown very truly says, " Therefore the 
coming restoration of the Jews is to be distinct 
from that after the Babylonish captivity, and yet 
to resemble it. The first restoration was literal, 
therefore so shall the second be ; the latter, how- 
ever, it is implied here, shall be much more 
universal than the former/' They will then no 
longer " abide in unbelief," for the Lord " will 
give them a heart to know Him ;" will " take away 
the stony heart" of unbelief, "put His Spirit 
within them," and " turn away ungodliness from 
them." This, plainly enough, accounts for their 
great national conversion. — Jer. xxiv, 7; Eze. 
xxxvi, 26, 27 ; Rom. xi, 26. " Without faith it 
is impossible to please God" (Heb. xi, 6), but 
their faith will be largely the result of sight, some- 
what after the manner of Thomas who would not 
believe otherwise. Paul too was converted by 
seeing the Lord Jesus ; and that event seems to 
foreshadow and illustrate the future conversion of 
his brethren. 

Perhaps it may not be a waste of time to glance 
briefly at what several uninspired writers have 
said on the subject. Dr. William Jenks, Editor 
of the " Comprehensive Commentary," says on 
Rom. xi, 26 : — " The Editor is at a loss to conceive 
how any attentive reader of the prophecies can come 
to any other conclusion than that there is yet to be 
a glorious restoration of the Jews; probably to 



254 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

their own land, certainly to the Church and Gospel 
privileges ; and this has been, as Whitby shows, 
the constant doctrine of the Church." On Isa. Hi, 
1, Scott says, " Nothing can be supposed more in- 
teresting than the future restoration of Israel to 
the church and to their own land ; no event is 
more evidently predicted in Scripture." C. H. 
Spurgeon, the London Baptist preacher, says, " I 
think we do not attach sufficient importance to the 
restoration of the Jews. But certainly if there is 
anything promised in the Bible, it is this. I 
imagine that you cannot read the Bible without 
seeing clearly that there is to be an actual restora- 
tion of the children of Israel. May that happy 
day soon come ! For when the Jews are restored, 
then the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered 
in ; and as soon as they return, then shall Jesus 
come upon mount Zion to reign with His ancients 
gloriously, and the halcyon days of the Millennium 
shall then dawn." — Sermon vii, A.D. 1856. Ter- 
tullian, about A.D. 200, says : — " At His last 
coming He will favor with His acceptance and 
blessing the circumcision also, even the race of 
Abraham, which by-and-by is to acknowledge 
Him." — Against Marcion, B. v, c. ix. 

If, as some " Adventists " have thought, there is 
to be no mortality during the thousand years, but 
only an immortal aud perfected population on the 
earth, wherein would that thousand years differ in 
one single respect from the great and infinite 



AND STATE BEYOND. 255 

eternity beyond ? The fact that it is called "THE 
thousand years " proves it will be a special thou- 
sand years, differing from all that ever went before 
it, or that shall ever come after it. (The " light " 
of that millennial clay will not be " clear " like the 
perfect glory of the great eternity beyond nor 
"dark" like the present state, but it shall be pecu- 
liarly " one day which shall be known to the 
Lord." The common day is succeeded by dark- 
ness, but that millennial day will be succeeded by 
the greater splendour of endless glory, for "at even- 
ing time it shall be light") Why should there be 
mediatorship "after the order of Melchisedec" 
during the thousand years if no one shall then be 
living in the mortal state to need mediation ? And 
why should leaves be provided " for the healing of 
the nations" if there shall be no nations to need 
healing? — Rev. xxii, 2. And why bind Satan 
lest he should " deceive the nations " if there shall 
then be no one in the mortal state liable to being 
deceived? How can there be a rebellion of mor- 
tal nations at the end of the Millennium if they 
shall all be blotted out of existence a thousand 
years before f — Rev. xx, 3, 8. Indeed why should 
the millennial subjects of Christ and the saints be 
called " the nations" at all, if they are not still in 
the mortal state ? Surely immortals could not be 
punishable by plague and drought as the " left " of 
the nations will be if they come not up to Jerusa- 
lem to worship. — Zee. xiv, 16-19. Also the 



256 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

memorial sacrifices to be offered in that age, indi- 
cate the presence of mortality still pleading for 
pardon and reconciliation through the blood of 
Christ. (Those emblematic sacrifices will com- 
memorate and point to the " one sacrifice " on the 
cross; as the Lord's supper does in the present 
dispensation. — Zee. xiv, 21 ; Eze. xlv, 15-25.) 
Believers, gathered out of the present dispensation 
are "a kind of first-fruits ;" does not this imply a 
liarvest from the millennial dispensation that is to 
follow ? and, of course, that harvest will have to 
be gathered from a mortal race. — Jas. i, Is. Proba- 
tion, with its consequent liability to transgression 
and death, existed in Eden in the days when the 
Lord condescended to walk and talk with Adam 
and Eve. Then why not believe it will exist in 
the Millennium while Christ and His redeemed 
are reigning personally on earth ? If the Edenic 
state closed with the rebellion and expulsion of 
Adam and Eve who had beheld its wonders, and 
if thousands of Israelites rebelled and were des- 
troyed after what they had seen in the wilderness, 
is it unreasonable to believe that some of the mor- 
tal population will rebel and be destroyed after 
beholding the wonders of the Millennium? 

If the burning of which Peter speaks occurs at 
the close of the thousand years, would it not still 
be an event pertaining to " the day of the Lord," 
to the evening of that day, inasmuch as " one day 
is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thou- 



AND STATE BEYOND. 257 

sand years as one day " ? We must not suppose 
that all things predicted < f " the last day " or the 
" day of the Lord " will take place in twenty-four 
hours after He comes. One meaning of " day/' 
according to Webster, is " any period of time as 
distinguished from other time." The Greek ^ord 
for -' day " (hemera) has also that meaning in seme 
places, as " At that time [hemera) there was a great 
persecution/' — Ac. viii, 1. "Man's judgment" 
margin, " day " (Greek, hemera). — 1 Cor. iv,p. 
The American Bible Union's edition (1866) hs 
the following note on this verse : — " Man's da : 
namely, the present, in contrast with the comiij^ 
day of the Lord" Man's day, you know, hs 
been a very long one ; but I trust it is now " fa* 
spent, " and that we shall soon behold with joy tie 
glorious day of the Lord. Peter tells us to heqi 
the prophets, and some of the similar expression 
in their writings are evidently figurative, as, "Th 
Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it wasti 
and turneth it upside down. . . The land shall b| 
utterly emptied and utterly spoiled. . . The earth 
mourneth and fadeth away. . . The curse devoured 
the earth. . . The inhabitants of the earth are! 
burned and few men left." — Isa. xxiv, 1, 3, 4, 
6. But for those three last words, one might have 
thought the prophet meant the literal destruction 
of the earth and its population ; but those words 
prove that the material globe and some of its inhabi- 
tants were to survive those judgments. Verses 



258 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

13-16 prove the same, for "when thus it shall be in 
the midst of the land among the people, there shall 
be £S the shaking of an olive, and as the gleaning 
grapes when the vintage is done." Heavens and 
ear:h often denote those in and those under au- 
thority. Thus Moses when speaking " in the ears 
of all the congregation — both princes and people — 
sad, " Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak ; 
aid hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." — 
leut. xxxi, 30; xxxii, 1. Hence also persons 
offering in degree of authority are called sun, 
noon and stars. — Gen. xxxvii, 5-10. If Peter's 
vords be taken figuratively they denote the passing 
:way of all human governments " with a great 
loise " of out-poured wrath on the wicked ; after 
,vhich a new and heavenly order of things will be 
ntroduced. But if they be taken literally they 
denote rather the regeneration or renewal than the 
annihilation of the material globe, for after the 
conflagration it is still called " earth " (2 Pet iii, 
13), and the covenants of promise plainly enough 
indicate that, in its glorified state, it is to be the 
perpetual inheritance of the righteous.* As "a 



* " The general tenor of prophecy, and the analogy of the 
divine dealings point unmistakeably to this earth, purified 
and renewed, as the eternal habitation of the blessed." — 
Alford on Mat. v, 12. " Many of the old theologians thought 
that the whole existing physical universe was to be destroy- 
ed. This view is now universally discarded." — " Systematic 
Theology," by Prof. Hodge, Princeton. '" The Bible begins 



AND STATE BEYOND. 259 

new (Jcaine) creature " does not mean another crea- 
ture but only the same, changed for the better ; so 
" a new (kaine) earth " does not mean another earth 
but the same, renewed. 

At the close of the Millennium, when the mor- 
tal nature, shall have disappeared, the kingdom 
will be delivered up to the Father. — 1 Cor. xv, 24. 
Sin and death having ceased, Mediatorship will be 
a vacated office because the work of reconciliation 
will be perfected and completed ; and the breach 
between man and his Creator thoroughly repaired. 
Hence the delivering up denotes that " subjection " 
or subordination to the Father implied in the 
cessation of Mediatorship. The Father will then 
come into a more direct connexion with the earth 
than He had done while the Mediatorial office was 
existing. Transgressors will have been "rooted 
out " of the earth, and " the perfect " alone left 
remaining on it. — Prov. ii, 21, 22. Thus will be 

with the generations of the heavens and earth; but the 
Christian revelation ends with the regenerations, or new cre- 
ation of the heavens and the earth. . . The present earth is 
not to be annihilated." — A. Campbell, in " Ch. System." p. 
304, A.D. 1839. " It is more reasonable and philosophical 
to conclude that the earth shall be refined and rested, than 
finally destroyed." — Adam Clarke. Arguing from the up- 
ward progression of creative acts in the past, Hugh Miller, 
the celebrated geologist, says, " We must regaid the expect- 
ation of 'new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth 
righteousness,' as not unphilosophic, but as, on the contrary, 
altogether rational and according to experience." — Testimo- 
ny of the Rocks. — Lee. v. 



260 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

fully realized the Saviour's prayer, not that His 
people should be taken out of the world, but kept 
from the evil. — Jno. xvii, 15. Then earth and 
heaven will, as it were, be turned into one ; for 
the will of God shall thenceforth be done in 
earth " as it is in heaven" i. e. perfectly, absolutely, 
and throughout its whole extent by a glorified 
population of sinless and immortal beings made in 
bodily constitution " equal to the angels'' and "par- 
takers of the divine nature." Such will be the end- 
less and blissful state beyond the Millennium. The 
delivering up of the kingdom is therefore merely 
a change in the manner of its administration, but 
not an end of the kingdom itself, for it shall have 
"no end."— Lu. i, 32, 33; Dan. vii, 14; Psa. 
lxxxix, 29, 36, 37* If allowed to conjecture we 
might suppose that perhnps the vast harvest of 
immortalized ones gathered out of the millennial 
dispensation will be placed under . the eternal 
sovereignty of the Lord Jesus and His ^re-millen- 
nial saints. (There seem to be degrees of authority 
among the angels, as indicated by the title arch- 
angel i. e. chief angel). Be this as it may, all who 
are accounted worthy to inherit the kingdom, in 
whatever capacity, will enjoy an endless life of 
unspeakable glory and happiness. Will you come 
to the Saviour that you may inherit that kingdom 
and that life ? He says, " Him that cometh to me, 
I will in no wise cast out." — Jno. vi, 37. See an 
instance in one of His miracles. The great quie- 



AND STATE BEYOND. 261 

tude of the ancient Sabbath day had come over the 
populous town of Capernaum. In the synagogue 
that day the Lord Jesus had wrought a miracle, 
and the fame of it had spread from house to house 
till the city was thrilled with excitement. The other 
afflicted, hearing with joy that the great Prophet 
of Israel was in the city, wanted to go or be carried 
lo Him that they too might be healed. But the 
Pharisees had persuaded them that it was not lawful 
even to be healed on the Sabbath. So they waited 
till sun-set, when the Sabbath closed, having begun 
at sun-set of the previous day. How anxiously 
those afflicted ones, tossing on beds of pain, must 
have looked out of the windows to see if the sun 
was nearly down ! In one house perhaps it was 
a beloved son or daughter almost delirious with 
a burning fever, in another, an aged mother or 
father paralytic for years — all beseeching their 
friends to help them to see the Saviour before His 
departure from the city. And when, in the beau- 
tiful twilight, they came and gathered about the 
door, " He laid his hands on every one of them, and 
healed them ;" none were slighted. . What a joyful 
night was that! Some, perhaps, eating the first 
mouthful that they had relished for weeks ; others, 
cured of lameness, walking and praising God; 
others, restored to their right mind, conversing with 
circles of wondering and delighted friends. It is 
the same Jesus who offers to cure you of sin and 
give you eternal life at last. Then why not, with- 



262 THE SECOND ADVENT, MILLENNIUM 

out waiting for another sun-set, apply at once to so 
great a Physician? Naaman was told to " wash, 
and be clean." Will you too, poor sinner, wash 
and be clean from the leprosy of sin. "Be baptized 
and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the 
Lord." Hear the poor Greek woman crying io 
the Saviour for the mere "crumbs" of mercy ; 
that her daughter may be healed. With humility 
and faith she falls down at His feet, saying, "Lord 
help me;" and at once He speaks the healing word. 
Then how gladly she rises up and hurries home, 
where, if she had other children, I can imagine 
they must have come running to meet her, throw- 
ing up their little white hands and shouting " O 
mother ! mother ! sister is well ! sister is well ! " 
On a special occasion the Saviour was teaching the 
people, " and the power of the Lord was present 
to heal them ;" and His power is here to-day — 
the gospel is " the power of god unto salva- 
tion to every one that believeth." — Rom. i, 16. It 
has a regenerative power, for " of His own will 
begat He us by the word of truth . . . and 
this is the word which by the gospel is preached 
unto you."— Jas. i, 18; 1 Pet. i, 23, 25. Hence 
it is called in another place " the word of truth, 
the gospel of your salvation" — Ephes. i, 13. The 
regenerative process is threefold — mental, moral, 
and physical : (m first the blade, then the ear, after 
that the full corn in the ear."— Mark iv, 28. The 
mental and moral parts of the process consist in 



AND STATE BEYOND. 263 

believing and obeying the gospel of the king- 
dom ; the physical part, in being born of the Spirit 
at the resurrection. Unless you submit to the two 
first, you can never hope to experience the third 
and completing part of this process. Then why 
not, at once, believe and obey the gospel of the 
kingdom ? " The time is short ;" if the Lord come 
not very soon, death will ; for the longest human 
life is brief, compared to eternity. When the 
dread summons of death arrives, the plow, axe, 
hammer, yardstick, needle, pen, and all such imple- 
ments must be laid aside ; and then, may be, when 
too late, you will want to talk of the great here- 
after. Ah ! I can imagine a house of mourning 
from which the family physician has turned away 
in despair, for none but Jesus and the resurrection 
can help the sufferer now. Enter the sick room. 
Some persons are leaning against the wall, weeping; 
others are walking about with hushed voices and 
softened tread, and eyes filled with tears that will 
not be suppressed. Draw near the bedside ! Do 
you know the suiferer ? Yes, for though much 
changed by illness, yet some of the features re- 
main — it is one of you that are listening to the 
gospel-invitation to-day ! And shall it be well 
with you in that hour; no remorse and terror, but all 
calm and peaceful resignation ? It depends on the 
life that you live. O then, I beseech you to begin 
this day, to live a Christian life. 



INDEX. 



[Corrigenda: — p. 9, in some copies, for aleniated read 
alienated ; p. 22, for tiding read tidings ; p. 45, for require- 
ments read requirement ; p. 134, for Im read I'm ; p. 183, 
for with read worth ; p. 206, for is is read is.] 



FIRST DISCOURSE :— how to study 

THE BIBLE 5 

SECOND DISCOURSE -.—what must i 

DO TO BE SAVED? ... 28 

THIRD DISCOURSE :— the promises 

MADE UNTO THE FATHERS ; OR, THE 
COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM . . 52 

FOURTH DISCOURSE :— the sure 

MERCIES; OR, THE COVENANT WITH 
DAVID ...... 76 

FIFTH DISCOURSE :— the eternal 

INHERITANCE 98 

SIXTH DISCOURSE :— immortality, 

AND HOW IT MAY BE OBTAINED . 121 

SEVENTH DISCOURSE:— the sub- 
jects, NATURE, DESIGN AND IMPOR- 
TANCE OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM . 157 

EIGH TH DISCOURSE : — christian 

DUTIES AND GRACES TO BE OBSERVED 

AND CULTIVATED AFTER BAPTISM. 178 

NINTH DISCOURSE :— the kingdom 

AS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE CHURCH. 
A FEW PROMINENT SIGNS THAT THE 
KINGDOM IS NEAR . . . .195 

TENTH DISCOURSE :— the second 

ADVENT, THE MILLENNIUM AND THE 
STATE BEYOND . . . . 223 



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